From the Hip: Julie Wise, Director of Elections
Why you shouldn’t only vote this November I know for many of you it feels like this election has been going on forever, but here at King County Elections we’ve actually been preparing for years. For this election we will – Process about 100,000 additional voter registrations Send out nearly 1.3 million ballots to King County voters Field more than 27,000 phone calls from voters Count more than a million ballots At our headquarters in Renton we’ll have countless tour groups, party observers and media visitors. On Election Day, we’ll have more… Read More
Celebrating 105 years of combined service- and no regrets
Al Viray, Al Williamson, and Bryon Fauchald recently received a 35-year service award, as well as lunch with acting Wastewater Treatment Division Director Gunars Sreibers and Department of Natural Resources and Parks Director Christie True, to celebrate each employee and his incredible commitment to wastewater services for our region. Thank you to all three for their dedication to King County! On December 1, 1981 three men, Al Viray, Al Williamson, and Bryon Fauchald, reported for their first day of work at the West Point Treatment plant in Discovery Park. At that time,… Read More
Reminder: 2017 Benefits Open Enrollment November 1-15
Open Enrollment for your 2017 King County benefits began Tuesday, November 1. This is your opportunity to evaluate your benefit choices and select the right options for you and your family for next year. Learn about your 2017 benefits Our comprehensive benefits package takes good care of the people who take care of King County—by promoting your continued health, financial security, and peace of mind. Use the following resources to learn about your benefits—and what’s changing for next year: Open Enrollment mailer sent to your home King County Open Enrollment website Recorded phone… Read More
King County employees reduce project lead times by two years through Lean
Crossposted from Lean in King County In September, King County Wastewater Treatment Division (WTD) celebrated the hard work of hundreds of employees who have been streamlining how WTD operates the regional system and how it builds new facilities needed for our growing population. Employees explained to coworkers how they used Lean techniques to improve efficiency, standardize processes, and save time – thereby saving ratepayers money – during a four-hour open house. WTD has a long history of continuously improving our business using employee ideas. Over 1.5 million people in the region depend… Read More
Executive Constantine names new GM for Metro, the nation’s 10th largest transit service
In naming interim Metro General Manager Rob Gannon to the permanent position, King County Executive Dow Constantine selected a leader with experience at Metro as well as Amazon.com and the University of Montana. Gannon, 47, served as Interim General Manager from March 2016 until now. He was Metro Deputy General Manager from 2013-2016, and Human Resources Manager for the King County Department of Transportation from 2011-2013. He previously oversaw budget and labor relations at the University of Montana. “As our region grows and becomes ever more reliant on fast, efficient transit, Rob… Read More
Univision honors Metro’s Penny Lara during Latinx Heritage Month
Crossposted from Metro Matters The people of King County are fortunate to have Penny Lara. A longtime advocate for equity, Lara is a transportation planner at King County Metro focused on improving access to transportation for communities with special needs. Lara came from the Department of Public Health, Seattle-King County, where she played a key role in implementing ORCA LIFT –the reduced fare card for low-income riders — and building upon her experience leading efforts to enroll King County’s Latinx community in health coverage under the Affordable Care Act. Read more at… Read More
Kudos for KC Metro staff smiling through the storm!
On Friday October 14, a King County Metro rider appreciated her ride so much she submitted an online commendation. She says: “A big hug to all of you at Metro who do such an amazing job. I just wanted to say thank you, the weather is terrible today and there are lots of cranky customers so I wanted you to know how much I appreciate all of you.” Thank you for letting us know how much you appreciate our Metro staff and their dedication to providing high quality customer service with a… Read More
Social Media Spotlight: King County Youth Justice Twitter
KC Youth Justice highlights King County and its partners’ efforts to steer more youth away from courts and detention and reduce youth interaction with the juvenile justice system – especially for youth of color who are disproportionately represented in it. Follow KCYouth on Twitter today! Click here to view all King County social media pages.
Q&A: Public Health takes on lead poisoning at work
Crossposted from Public Health Insider When we think about people at risk of lead poisoning, we may think about children exposed to lead-based paint, or those exposed to lead through certain hobbies. But did you know that thousands of workers in this country are exposed to lead at their workplaces – day in and day out? Alarmingly, the federal and Washington state worker health & safety standards to protect those workers are inadequate and are based on outdated science from the 1970s. In addition, workers of color in King County are at… Read More
Tech Tip: Zombie records can come back to haunt you (and the county!) BEWARE!
Brought to you by the King County Public Records Committee and the Records Management Program Records retained past their mandatory retention period could put you and the county at financial risk – not to mention risk of embarrassment. Just like zombies, records can do the most harm after they have reached the end of their life. Undead records lurk in basements, closets, on old floppy disks, and forgotten places on network drives – buried and lost amongst the clutter. But, they will come back to haunt you in the event of a… Read More
Employee News 