Employee News
Telling the stories of King County employees
Crossposted from Metro Matters The King County Council adopted Metro’s 2026-2027 budget in November 2025. The budget adds more than 400,000 hours of Metro bus service and totals $4 billion across Metro’s operating and capital programs, including all of Metro’s modes of transit as well as safety, cleaning, and zero emissions, among other priorities. Read more.
On Wednesday, Nov. 26, his first full day in office, King County Executive Girmay Zahilay held a Regional Day of Service focused on food banks and food security across King County. He encouraged all King County residents to volunteer, donate, or find another meaningful way to support the work of our county’s food banks. This Regional Day of Service corresponds with one of Executive Zahilay’s “Four B’s” guiding his administration – “Boots on the Ground,” making King County government more visible, connected, and community-driven. Read more.
Crossposted from Metro Matters They enjoy taking photos, playing soccer and practicing peaceful martial arts. They travel and garden. There are ukulele, piano and guitar players and happy grandparents. Those who ride with them say one went the extra mile to return a lost phone: “I can’t tell you how happy I am to have it back, knowing it was safely with him the entire time.” Another rider talked about their ability to help a distraught passenger: “I was so impressed with her ability, in the midst of snow and ice and a schedule… Read More
Originally emailed to employees Nov. 25, 2025 I am honored to write to you for the first time as your King County Executive. Today, we launch a new chapter for King County. I look forward to this journey with you as we serve the people of our region. I’ve recorded a video introducing myself and thanking all of you here. Earlier today, I participated in two swearing-in ceremonies. The first was at NewHolly Gathering Hall and was a very personal event in the same community where I was raised. Around 200 community members… Read More
King County is updating its Local Food Initiative to address some of the most urgent challenges facing the local food economy, including access to hunger relief, rising farmland cost, a lack of food distribution infrastructure, and increasing threats from climate change. Since launching in 2015, the initiative has guided King County’s efforts to expand access to farmland for farmers, improve the farm-to-market pipeline to get more locally grown food to consumers, and ease access to healthy, affordable food in low-income communities. Read more.
Crossposted from Metro Matters The holidays are coming! Whether you are going to holiday events, shopping or celebrating with friends and family, it’s a great time to explore your transit options. We have some schedule adjustments to bus, water taxi and other services during the upcoming holidays and sharing them here to help you more easily make travel plans. Tips for holiday travel How do I pay my fare? Tap your ORCA card, show your Transit Go Ticket or tap your Android Google Pay app. Insert correct amount of cash into the farebox. Link tickets… Read More
Crossposted from Public Health Insider It’s the holiday season, and that means FOOD! Whether you’re hosting a big group or bringing your famous side dish to a gathering, you want to make sure your food is both delicious and safe. While anyone can get a foodborne illness, and symptoms like diarrhea and vomiting are never pleasant, foodborne illnesses are most dangerous for children, the elderly, and people with weakened immune systems. Read more.
Do you have money left in your Flexible Spending Account (FSA)? To check the balance of your Health Care or Day Care FSA, go to Navia Benefits and sign in to your account. Expenses must be incurred by Dec. 31, 2025, and submitted for reimbursement by March 31, 2026. Please see details below. Health Care FSAs The Health Care FSA allows you to carry over up to $660 of unused funds from your 2025 Health Care FSA for use in 2026. Any other remaining funds are forfeited. You can use your Health Care FSA funds to… Read More
Crossposted from Metro Matters Each November, Native American Heritage Month invites us to honor the history, cultures, and enduring contributions of Native peoples throughout our region and across the nation. At Metro, this is also a time to reflect on how our work connects to the values of stewardship, respect, and community—values long upheld by the Indigenous peoples of this land. We acknowledge that Metro operates on the ancestral lands of the Muckleshoot, Snoqualmie, Puyallup, Tulalip, Suquamish, Coast Salish Tribes, and the Duwamish people. These communities have cared for the land and… Read More
Crossposted from Metro Matters The Puget Sound Business Journal honored King County Metro General Manager Michelle Allison with a Woman of Influence award, recognizing a leader whose clarity of purpose, steady approach, and commitment to community are transforming how our region moves. The award was given at a ceremony on Wednesday night in Seattle. “She is only the second woman to lead Metro, and her example is paving the way for future generations of women in public service,” said King County Executive Shannon Braddock. Every weekday, Metro delivers more than 300,000 rides. That number… Read More
Crossposted from the DES Express Before dawn on Oct. 30, promptly at 7 a.m., Runway 14L/32R at King County International Airport-Boeing Field (KCIA) officially reopened for flight operations. Moments later, BETA Technologies’ ALIA electric aircraft quietly took off from the runway (watch a video of the flight), the first plane to do so. Later, airport tenants, guests and employees celebrated the reopening of the small utility runway at a brief gathering over the lunch hour outside the terminal, with Mount Rainier in the background. “This is celebrating the history of Boeing Field,”… Read More
Crossposted from the DES Express For the first time, Emergency Management held a drill called a Joint Information Center/Joint Information System exercise involving other local governments and non-profit organizations in addition to the usual King County agencies. A total of 33 people participated, with 13 of those in person and 20 online. They hailed from as far south as Clark County and as far north as Vancouver, Canada. Another eight people were involved in exercise coordination. “This exercise was a great opportunity to have our partners test the communications plans and procedures… Read More
Crossposted from GIS & You King County is proud to have been honored with the 2025 Exemplary Systems in Geospatial (ESIG) Award in the Single Process Systems category by the Geospatial Professional Network (GPN, formerly URISA). This recognition honors our innovative AI-GIS Strengthened State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) Response Letter Generator, a novel system that integrates geographic information systems (GIS) with generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) to advance health equity across King County. Read more.
King County Executive Shannon Braddock issued the following statement after the King County Council passed a $20 billion biennial budget that adopts major components of her 200-Day Plan and reflects key investments in public safety, housing and homelessness, and behavioral health while preparing for future federal funding uncertainties. “This budget reflects King County’s values, which means delivering a balanced plan that protects essential services, increases efficiency, and reinvests in programs that most benefit our residents. I would like to thank the King County Council for their hard work in passing the budget,… Read More
Thank you to everyone who has participated in this year’s Annual Giving Drive so far! As a reminder, the Employee Giving Program made a one-time extension to this year’s Annual Giving Drive (AGD), to Friday, Nov. 21., 2025. If you are donating eligible Vacation or Compensatory time, tomorrow Nov. 21, 2025 is a firm deadline and one of the benefits of PeopleSoft is that it can be done from home. Every year, hundreds of hours of time must be turned away because they come in after the deadline and were not able to be processed. Click here to learn more about giving… Read More
King County employees can now take advantage of discounted tickets for ECHO, performing at King County’s Marymoor Park Jan. 30 to March 22. Use this link to save up to 40% on select seats and dates. For groups of 10+, enjoy up to 40% off plus reduced handling fees. For questions or more information, contact Sarah.Hudson@cirquedusoleil.com. See all available discounts on the Employee Discount intranet page.
Crossposted from Metro Matters Recently, King County Executive Shannon Braddock and Metro announced an improved customer experience for Access paratransit service customers and seniors, especially in rural communities, delivering on one of the key priorities in the Executive’s 200-Day Plan. People with disabilities who live in rural communities and use Access will have an easier time making reservations and enjoy improved on-time arrivals. There are also pilot programs that range from grocery delivery to same-day reservations. These services – alongside new in-person support for Access paratransit, Community Van, and Hopelink – will offer… Read More
With household costs for utilities projected to rapidly increase each year for the next decade – making housing even less affordable than it is today – King County Executive Shannon Braddock and Sound Cities Association on Friday brought together more than 150 elected officials, regulators, and public works managers from throughout King County to develop a path that both protects the natural environment and reduces the burden on homeowners. A typical single-family household in King County currently pays an estimated $400 per month for utilities, including natural gas, electricity, solid waste, stormwater, sewer, and… Read More
Ava Michler, with the Performance and Strategy (PSB) team, spoke with Eyob Mazengia about how Public Health – Seattle & King County (PHSKC) responds to unpermitted food vending. The Food Safety team decreases barriers to receiving permits and uses data visualization to inform their operations. As we see an increase of unpermitted food vending throughout the county, the Food Safety team’s work has been critical for protecting the health of county residents and upholding food safety standards. A key part of their approach is supporting vendor entrepreneurial goals, by providing guidance and… Read More
King County employees can now note that their ORCA pass will automatically renew at the start of the new year and disregard the expiration alert when tapping for use on transit. For questions or concerns, please reach out to the Employee Transportation Program coordinator at ETP@kingcounty.gov. For more information, visit the Employee Transportation Program SharePoint employee website.