Five tips on how to prepare for a disaster on a budget 

Crossposted from Public Health Insider  Whenever I think about emergency preparedness, it sounds like a lot of work and a lot of money. When money is tight, it’s hard to make emergency preparedness a priority. Since it is National Preparedness Month, I decided to find ways to help save money while preparing for an emergency. Here are a few tips to make emergency preparedness kit less expensive.  Tip #1: Start with Things at Home In my home, I have a lot of stuff. I started building my kit by taking things from my house that… Read More

PeopleSoft mobile features available now! 

The Business Resource Center (BRC) continues to deliver new features, improvements and bug fixes every quarter to PeopleSoft! King County’s PeopleSoft team is at the forefront for adopting new Oracle PeopleSoft features and enhancements. The upcoming September release improves employee self service! It provides easy access to view your paycheck, leave balances and personal details on the go, from anywhere there is an internet connection. Self service improvements include: Mobile pay: Quickly view net pay, get a comprehensive look through the paycheck summary, and see paycheck analytics Leave balances: See vacation, sick and compensatory time balances… Read More

State retirement contributions increased Sept. 1 for PSERS

Employee and employer contribution rates for the Public Safety Employees’ Retirement System (PSERS) plan increased Sept. 1, 2017, as approved by the State Legislature. The new contribution amounts will be deducted from your second paycheck in September: If you are paid on the 5th and 20th of the month, your new contribution will appear on your September 20 paycheck. If you are paid every other Thursday, your new contribution will appear on your September 21 paycheck. If you have any questions about the rate change, please contact the Washington State Department of Retirement Systems… Read More

Industries honored for dedication to clean water

Crossposted from Clean Water Stories  Believe it or not, industry is still a major employer in King County, accounting for over 100,000 jobs in the city of Seattle alone.  Another little known fact is how much emphasis our local industries put on environmental stewardship.  One of our responsibilities as a clean-water utility is to regulate facilities that discharge industrial wastewater to our regional sewer system, and we issue permits to make sure this wastewater won’t harm the environment, our workers, or our treatment system.  Permit conditions might call for facilities to regularly… Read More

KCDOT works with local consulates to reach Spanish-speaking customers

Crossposted from Inside Transportation  As part of our commitment to delivering accessible service to all residents of King County, regardless of their place of origin, KCDOT leadership recently met with the local consuls of five Latin American nations to help us improve our communications with Spanish-speaking customers.  Nearly one of every 10 King County residents is of Hispanic/Latinx origin, according to the last census, and of those who speak Spanish at home, nearly half say they speak English less than “very well.” Language can become a barrier to using public transit, and elements… Read More

Drug court judge helps people get back on the road to recovery

Crossposted from the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office Facebook For years, Judge James Cayce presided over mostly criminal trials: Child rapes. Murders. One family torture trial stretched out over four months, but despite the difficult nature of the crimes, Judge Cayce enjoyed the work. When the opportunity came along to preside over Drug Court, Judge Cayce hesitated. “I didn’t want to do drug court at first, but Judge Carey asked me to do Drug Court on Fridays in Kent, so I sat in a couple of times…and I loved it,” he recalls…. Read More

To improve innovation and accountability, Executive Constantine proposes to make Metro its own County department

King County Executive Dow Constantine directed work to begin on a plan to move Metro from a division within the King County Department of Transportation to a standalone County department. This would increase innovation and accountability in four areas: increasing mobility options, capital construction, investing in Metro’s workforce, and expanding the transit system through partnerships.  “This region increasingly depends on fast, reliable transit. So it’s no surprise that Metro is one of our most vital, visible, and popular services,” said Executive Constantine. “By elevating Metro as a standalone department, we can better… Read More

King County TV and Office of Cable Communications manager recognized with national awards 

KCTV’s video Digital Connection won first place in the “Use of Social Media” category at the Government Programming Awards, an annual national conference held by the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors (NATOA). The county-operated TV station took home three other programming awards including one in the public health category for a piece on King County’s Heroin Task Force.  NATOA’s annual government programming awards honors excellence in broadcast, cable, multimedia and electronic programming produced by local government agencies. This year, NATOA received more than 900 entries submitted in 65 categories by local governments across the country. “We are… Read More

Support natural disaster victims through Annual Giving Drive

Dear fellow King County employee: In the last month we have witnessed hurricanes tear through Texas, Florida, and the Caribbean as wildfires burned through the Pacific Northwest.  To make it easier for employees to give to non-profit organizations helping people to recover from these recent natural disasters, I have asked the Employee Giving Program to open the Annual Giving Drive early. During the Annual Giving Drive, you have more options available through workplace giving than any other time of year. You can support victims of these disasters by pledging before the deadline, November 17, 2017,… Read More

The Cat Condos have arrived! 

Crossposted from Tails from RASKC  Thanks to the Petco Foundation grant, our long awaited cat condos arrived last Friday and were immediately put to great use by our cat residents who have been excitedly purring and relaxing since being placed in their new homes.   See pictures below or feel free to stop our pet adoption center in Kent! Read more at Tails from RASKC