New anti-fraud trainings help employees protect taxpayer dollars
As part of Executive Girmay Zahilay’s Better Government actions, King County has launched two new employee trainings focused on preventing fraud, waste and misuse of public resources. These trainings build on King County’s existing policies, trainings, guidance, and other resources that support employees in responsibly managing public resources and protecting tax dollars.
The new King County Fraud, Waste, and Abuse Prevention training will launch on Aug. 7 to nearly 4,000 Executive Branch employees who perform a key role in administering contracts or delivering programs, services, resources, and/or information on behalf of King County. Employees who are required to complete the training will be notified directly by NEOGOV.
“One of our ACTIVATE Values is Trusted,” said Megan Pedersen, Chief People Officer. “As public employees we must earn and maintain public trust through honesty, ethical behavior, and responsible stewardship of public resources. These trainings help to ensure we deliver on this value.”
Department of Community and Human Services (DCHS) employees are currently completing a separate, DCHS-specific Anti-Fraud Training, which helped inform the development of the new King County Fraud, Waste, and Abuse Prevention training. DCHS employees are not required to complete both trainings, as the DCHS Anti-Fraud Training fulfills the training requirement for DCHS employees. Read more.
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Executive Zahilay announces $15 million grant for crisis intervention training, gun violence prevention, and other community safety initiatives
Recently, Executive Girmay Zahilay announced that King County received a $15 million grant from the state Criminal Justice Training Commission (CJTC) Public Safety Funding Program ESHB 2015 to support local public safety initiatives, including crisis intervention training for law enforcement and corrections officers, enhanced behavioral health responder options, and community gun violence prevention programs.
“With the heartbreaking tragedy at Seattle Center, we must double down on our efforts to interrupt cycles of violence, strengthen community safety, and ensure people get the right support when they need it,” said Executive Zahilay. Read more.
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IT Helpdesk (Cherwell) ticketing blackout Aug. 14 through 16, as Neurons prepares for launch
King County’s current IT service management system, Cherwell, will soon be replaced by a new system called Neurons. As part of the cutover, Cherwell will go offline at noon on Friday, Aug. 14, creating a temporary ticketing blackout from Aug. 14 through 16. During this time, employees will not be able to submit new tickets or view existing tickets online. The KCIT Helpdesk will remain available by phone during regular business hours, with after‑hours support continuing for urgent IT issues. Please call 206-263-HELP for assistance.
All tickets submitted before noon on Aug. 14 will be automatically moved into Neurons and will be available again when the new system launches at 6:30 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 17. A video tutorial and FAQs are now available to help employees get familiar with the new Neurons system before the launch.
KCIT processes more than 87,000 Helpdesk tickets each year, and several County agencies use Cherwell for service and asset management. Neurons will offer a similar experience but with improved features, better efficiency, and an easier, more intuitive interface. Thank you for your patience as KCIT completes this important upgrade and works to keep disruptions to a minimum.
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King County Metro announces major service expansion across King County
Crossposted from Metro Matters
Starting Aug. 29, riders across King County will see one of King County Metro’s largest service expansions in recent years, including nine new bus routes and more than 3,000 additional bus trips each week. In response to feedback from riders, Metro is boosting frequency and expanding service earlier in the morning, later in the evening and on weekends, making transit more convenient, reliable and better connected to the region’s expanding Link light rail network.
The most significant improvements are in South King County, where Metro is making major investments to improve all-day and weekend service while strengthening connections to new Sound Transit Link light rail stations. Additional service improvements also are planned on dozens of routes serving North King County and the Eastside.
“This marks the single largest bus service investment in South King County in a generation,” Executive Zahilay said. “These improvements mean shorter waits, stronger connections and more opportunities for people to get where they need to go whether that’s work, school, childcare or home. Better transit helps build stronger communities in King County.” Read more.
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PeopleSoft new homepage available Aug. 9
An update to PeopleSoft is coming on Monday, Aug. 9. Starting Aug. 9, when employees login to PeopleSoft, they will notice the new homepage design (below) with an updated color scheme and navigation options.
Check out this video on the updated ways to navigate PeopleSoft, or look over this helpful training document to learn more about the new changes. For other PeopleSoft resources, visit the PeopleSoft Knowledge Center.
For those who experience any technical issues after the update, first try clearing the internet browser cache using these instructions. If issues persist, please submit a help ticket at helpdesk.kingcounty.gov.
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Wildfire smoke in our region
Smoky air from wildfires is expected in our region this week. Puget Sound Clean Air Agency, the agency that oversees outdoor air quality, is reporting air quality levels will likely be MODERATE to UNHEALTHY for sensitive groups for the first half of the week.
Wildfire smoke can cause a range of health problems, including chest pain, coughing, fast heartbeat, headaches, and asthma attacks. Some groups are more sensitive to smoke, including:
- Children and teens
- People with asthma, lung or heart disease, diabetes, or who have had a heart attack or stroke
- Anyone who is pregnant
- Anyone older than 65
- People who smoke
- People who have colds, the flu, COVID, and other illnesses.
You can find local air quality and wildfire smoke forecasts at AirNow.gov or on weather apps. Smoke conditions change frequently so check often.
Some of our work needs to be performed outdoors. If you are concerned about doing field work in these conditions, please talk with your supervisor about the actions listed in this article. Departments may provide specific guidance for their employees. Read more.
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Executive Zahilay joins summer gathering for kokanee salmon recovery partners amid hopeful signs of progress
King County Executive Girmay Zahilay kicked off a summer gathering of the Lake Sammamish Kokanee Work Group amid hopeful signs of a sustainable recovery for a native salmon species that is important to the region’s history and habitat.
Hosted at the Snoqualmie Indian Tribe’s new Harvest Kitchen in Snoqualmie, the partners provided an update on actions they have taken in recent years to ensure the survival of the freshwater kokanee and previewed actions they will take next. The gathering occurred 18 months after King County biologists reported a surge in the number of adult kokanee returning from Lake Sammamish to spawn the next generation after a catastrophic decline eight years earlier. Read more.
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Look out for a postcard about your Making Life Easier benefits
Employees will soon receive a postcard at home that highlights some of the services available to employees and household members through our Making Life Easier program.
Making Life Easier now provides King County employees with assistance for workplace concerns, as well as ongoing support for employees and all household members to help with everyday challenges. Services include:
- Confidential and free counselor accessibility 24 hours a day, 365 days a year for employees who work all shifts
- Network of mental health counselors and coaches who offer a variety of clinical specialties, cultural backgrounds, and diversity
- Tools for employees to cope with work-related stress and career decisions, navigating conflict with a coworker or supervisor, addressing burnout and trauma, coping with workplace change, and more
- Financial and legal consultation; referral and consultation for adult, elder, and childcare; and counseling for individual, marital, and family problems.
For more information about MLE and to speak with a licensed Curalinc counselor, call 888-874-7290. Phones are answered 24/7. Access the MLE program here with group code: kingcounty.
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Records Management reminder: Best practice is to develop and use naming conventions across your team/work group
As county employees, we have the option of deciding what subject lines to use for our emails and what file names to use for documents or folders we create. Using consistent naming conventions is one of the most important parts of good records management.
You do not need to reinvent the wheel for your own records; it is best to use the same naming conventions across your workgroup. For more information, reach out to your Records Management Lead. You can view more details in the Folder Structures and Document Naming Conventions guidance for specific considerations. For more information, visit the County Records and Information Management Program’s website or contact them at records.management@kingcounty.gov. The County Records and Information Management Program (CRIMP), in the Department of Executive Services, provides guidance, resources, and training to all King County employees to assist them with managing King County’s public records according to state and local legal requirements and best practices.
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Make this weekend a voting weekend!
Vote Centers across the county are open this weekend, and Elections staff are ready to help you register, get a replacement ballot, and answer any questions you need answered in order to make your voice heard.
Vote Center locations and hours are available at kce.wiki/VoteCenter
If you do spend time voting this weekend tag us in your photos @kcelections on Instagram, Bluesky, or even LinkedIn!
For more information about King County Elections visit kingcounty.gov/Elections.
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