Kudos! Congratulation on award for leading healthier lives

On June 10 we celebrated winning the Harvard Innovations Award, awarded to King County for our Healthy Incentives Program. We had a great time remembering all of the things that make this program unique and, for some of our employees, life-saving. The “What’s Your Reason” video that our co-workers put together is just the tip of the kind of creativity that led Harvard to award us this prize. Harvard Professor Stephen Goldsmith, who presented us with the plaque, told us we won not necessarily because we saved money but because we did it in… Read More

Kudos! Christine Nguyen, Customer Service Specialist III, Records and Licensing Services Division, DES

Good day, I was overseas for a year and when I returned, decided to get some personalized plates. There was a Christine who helped me at your 4th Street [Avenue] Office in Seattle at approximately 3:30 p.m. last Friday [May 2]. She not only took my plate application, but also let me know I could get tabs early (they were good until August, so I didn’t think it was possible to get them done early). She also reminded me that a new emissions test would also be needed and gave me excellent directions to… Read More

Featured Job: Geographical Information Systems Specialist – Journey

Application deadline: Monday 07/07/14 4:30 PM Salary: $33.76 – $42.79 Hourly / $2,700.80 – $3,423.20 Biweekly Department: Department of Assessments Description: The GIS Specialist (Cadastral Mapping) is primarily responsible for the maintenance of the King County GIS cadastral geodatabase. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in maintaining cadastral data in an ArcGIS versioned database. Additionally, the candidate will be production oriented and well versed in the translation and understanding of legal descriptions, deeds and property surveys. This position reports to the Mapping Unit Supervisor and takes technical direction from the… Read More

Employees join clean sweep of Union Bay

Employees from Water and Land Resources Division (WLRD) were among the more than 300 volunteers who removed trash and debris from Union Bay as part of the 12th Annual Puget Sound Keeper’s Lake Union Sweep on May 17. Environmental Lab Scientists Bob Kruger and Stephanie Hess used the lab’s 25-foot aluminum research vessel Chinook to pick up trash collected by kayakers and keep a general eye on safety, with Bob skippering the boat and Stephanie serving as a deck-hand. They joined volunteers in kayaks, row boats, canoes and motorized craft for the… Read More

Five Questions with Tre’ Maxie, Chief Deputy Assessor, Department of Assessments

1. What does your role as Chief Deputy Assessor involve? There are 39 Cities and over 160 taxing Districts that rely on the information generated by the talented staff in our Department to fund their budgets. Working under the leadership of King County Assessor Lloyd Hara, I work with a team to oversee the Department of Assessments. We provide nearly $4 billion in fair assessments that fund important areas such as education, roads, fire, and hospitals for all King County cities and districts. We also maintain property maps and administer the many generous… Read More

State-of-the-art pump station comes to Kirkland

The city of Kirkland has a new neighbor in town. “As a downtown merchant I can say we are really excited to welcome the pump station as our newest downtown neighbor. It’s the kind of neighbor that everybody wants; it’s clean, quiet and attractive,” Penny Sweet, Kirkland’s Deputy Mayor said. Waste water from local Kirkland buildings travels to the pump station, where the water is then pumped to a waste water treatment plant in Renton. The treatment plant takes the waste water, recovers nutrients that can be used, and then treats the… Read More

More copies of Equity & Social Justice poster available

King County’s Equity & Social Justice poster is once again available for employees to display in their workspace. If you need copies of the poster, which uses an “equity tree” to highlight the determinants of equity, for your conference room or office, please contact paula.harris-white@kingcounty.gov or matias.valenzuela@kingcounty.gov to make arrangements to pick some up or put some in inter-office mail to your work site.  

King County Employees Deferred Compensation Fair

Americans are living longer, healthier lives. And while that’s a good thing, it also creates a challenge. Bringing your retirement landscape to life takes time, planning, and a clear vision of your future. Now is the time to plan ahead for a retirement that may last 30 years or more. A work of art isn’t created overnight. It takes planning. Learn the skills and techniques you’ll need at the King County Employees Deferred Compensation Fair. All King County benefit-eligible employees and retirees are invited. The fair provides an ideal opportunity for you… Read More

Young Government Leaders Seattle Chapter Kickoff

Young Government Leaders (YGL) Seattle is a leadership and professional development organization, and it is hosting a kickoff event on June 26.  YGL’s goals are to connect, educate, inspire and transform current and future government leaders in the Seattle metro area. The June 26 kickoff event is open to employees at every level of government (federal, state, local, tribal, etc.) as well as anyone interested in government employment. Attendees will have the opportunity to network with others interested in government leadership as well as learn more about YGL Seattle (YGL is a Washington DC-based,… Read More

Parks upcycles cargo container for use by campers

In Tolt-MacDonald Park, near Carnation, campers now have the option of camping in a cargo box. “I loved pulling materials out of the scrap bin to make something people would enjoy,” Jason Anglin, a carpenter with King County Parks, said. “It felt good to be this creative.” This upcycled cargo container boasts radiant heat, LED lighting, a table and bench set, food storage, a futon bunk, and an outdoor fire pit. Upcycling is a form of reuse that aims to keep items from entering the waste stream when creating new products by… Read More