King County Executive Dow Constantine has proclaimed Sept. 2 through Sept. 6 as National Payroll Week, and recognizes the important role of King County’s payroll professionals. “King County payroll professionals play a key role in maintaining the economic health of the County, in ensuring the economic security of families by carrying out diverse tasks such as processing paychecks, payments to child support, and tax withholding, reporting, and depositing,” Executive Constantine said in the Proclamation. Read the full proclamation here.

This summer, King County employees formed an ultimate frisbee team for DiscNW’s corporate league (with the team name “zzGrp, KC Ulti”). King County departments represented on the team included Natural Resources and Parks (including players from Water and Land Resources Division, Wastewater Treatment Division, and Parks), Information Technology, Public Health, Executive Services, Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, plus several significant others who consistently showed up as well. While most other teams in the league came from tech companies that sponsored them, King County’s squad was composed of enthusiastic County employees who covered league costs themselves. Games… Read More

Crossposted from the DES Express   The Facilities Management Division welcomed the Customer Experience Section (CES) to their division last month. This new group oversees customer-facing services: the Customer Care Team (CCT), Print Shop, ID Access, Chinook 13 Program, and the Parking Program. From day one, CES has been dedicated to discovering ways they can improve the customer service their partners receive. “What initially attracted me to this role was the opportunity to engage in process development within a new team structure that focuses on the experience of all those involved,” said Shannon… Read More

The King County Sheriff’s Office was delighted to witness Deputy Marty Hodge being publicly recognized at a recent Mariners game with his name illuminated on the big screen. Deputy Hodge dedicated 21 years to service in the United States Army as a Master Sergeant in special forces, notably contributing to the first Iraq war and operation Enduring Freedom. Following his military tenure, Deputy Hodge transitioned to a role at the King County Sheriff’s Office, where he has diligently served as a deputy for the past 22 years. Deputy Hodge initially commenced off-duty… Read More

Crossposted from Metro Matters They read, travel, garden and work around their homes. They are bike riders—both motor and stationary. They enjoy making jams and jellies. They are even former clog dancers! They are operators with two centuries of driving experience. The operators on your bus are as unique as you, and all of them love driving and giving back to their community. Read more.

Crossposted from King County Local Eric Urban isn’t new when it comes to fire safety in the Puget Sound area, but he is relishing (and keeping busy) in his new role as King County Fire Marshal. Eric was appointed to the position earlier this year, following Chris Ricketts’ retirement. Eric’s appointment came after he served more than a year as Deputy Fire Marshal for King County. Read more.

Crossposted from Metro Matters It takes a lot of people to keep a transit system running smoothly across 150 routes and over 300,000 boardings a day. Bus drivers are the most visible part of any transit system, but there are people behind the scenes who are just as vital in the day-to-day operation of King County Metro. Their responsibilities range from training operators, planning the routes that run throughout the region, and literally being “traffic controllers” keeping track of the buses on their daily runs. Read more.