Crossposted from Keeping King County Green The Department of Natural Resources and Parks’ (DNRP) communications staff recently received a combined seven awards at two national conferences, recognizing achievements in news media, social media, video production, web design, graphic art, and multicultural outreach. On the same night they received the Golden Post Award at the Government Social Media conference hosted in Orlando, they received awards in six categories at the National Association of Government Communicators annual conference hosted in Pittsburgh. Those are in addition to their three Northwest Regional Emmy Award nominations. “We’re fortunate to have a high-performing team… Read More

The Personal Property Escalated Collection Team, part of Treasury Operations in the Finance and Business Operations Division of the Department of Executive Services, is the winner of the 2024 Best-Run Government Award for Cost. The award was one of eight announced by Executive Shannon Braddock on May 8. Through its Outreach to Businesses program, the team worked collaboratively with King County commercial businesses to recover $5.3 million of revenue and fees from 2023 and 2024 delinquent taxes – and reduce the portion of taxes which had become delinquent from 4.06% in 2023… Read More

In recent years, law enforcement has been one of the most challenging industries for recruitment and hiring. Between 2019 and 2023, law enforcement hiring nationwide saw a 40% increase in job openings and a 39% decrease in applicants per job, creating unprecedented recruitment challenges. These trends deeply impacted King County’s Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention (DAJD), which experienced a rise in vacancies—from 19 in 2020 to 120 Corrections Officer (CO) vacancies by early 2024—despite record-setting hiring years in 2022 and 2023. The department also saw a high vacancy rate for Juvenile… Read More

When a critical project to update King County’s court case management system faced a significant challenge, Shuyi Hu, Technology Division Director for the Department of Judicial Administration (DJA) – Technology Services Division, stayed focused and kept the project moving. His determination, tenacity, innovative approach, and leadership skills contributed to Shuyi winning the 2024 Best-Run Government – Leadership Excellence Award – People Leader. The Best-Run Government Leadership Excellence Awards recognize individuals who have made significant and tangible leadership contributions to developing Executive branch values in others, improving workplace culture, and leading organizational change… Read More

Crossposted from the DAJD newsletter Like their counterparts in other public safety agencies and the military, this tight-knit group provides official departmental representation at solemn events. They attend awards presentations, promotions, and retirements. Their job isn’t strictly ceremonial. Honor Guard members are often called upon to be there for peers and family members at the most difficult times. They stand by after coworkers have passed and pay respects to peer agencies after line-of-duty deaths. Read more.

King County Executive Shannon Braddock announced the winners of the 2024 Best-Run Government Awards on May 8, with eight King County employees, leaders, and teams recognized for their outstanding performance, leadership, and innovation.  The awards’ highest honor, the 2024 Fred Jarrett Leadership Excellence Award, was presented to Steve Larsen, Deputy Director of Adult and Juvenile Detention (DAJD).  The Fred Jarrett Leadership Excellence Award is named for former Deputy Executive Fred Jarrett, the driving force behind Lean and continuous improvement for nine years at the County. It is presented to a senior county… Read More