Employee News
Telling the stories of King County employees
Happy Holidays all our King County employees! Enjoy this time with loved ones and please stay warm and safe. Know that we appreciate you and everything you do in your work at King County. Thank you for your commitment, time and passion.
Lean Problem-Solving Basics, Feb. 5: Do you feel like you tackle the same problems over and over again? In order to effectively solve problems once and for all, they must be solved at the root! Read more and register. Communication and Problem Solving Skills, Feb. 7: This one day training will address communication and problem solving skills with the public and with co-workers. This class covers skills for effective listening, speaking, dealing with conflicts and with defensive behavior. Read more and register. King County GIS training, multiple dates: KC GIS is now offering its schedule of face-to-face GIS… Read More
A Flexible Spending Account (FSA) can help you save an average of 30% on certain medical care and dependent care expenses by using pre-tax dollars. Learn more here.
Employees can now access discounted tickets to Monster Jam and Monster Energy AMA Supercross at CenturyLink Field in Seattle during March 2019. Monster Jam is Saturday, March 15, 2019 at 7 p.m. Click here for instructions for the discount. Monster Energy AMA Supercross is Saturday, March 23, 2019 at 6:30 p.m. Click here for instructions for the discount. See all available discounts on the Employee Discount page.
Crossposted from King County Parks Plog King County Parks had a busy year making good on the levy promise to bring 2,700 acres into the King County system by 2020. By the time 2019 rolls around, Parks will be on the lookout for a mere 500 more acres to reach the goal. As an added bonus, scooping up lands happens to be in line with King County’s Land Conservation Initiativeto protect the livability, health, and ecological integrity of our region by preserving 65,000 acres of land within the next 30 years. Read more at King County Parks Plog
All Home is now seeking volunteers for Count Us In 2019, the annual Point in Time (PIT) Count of people experiencing homelessness. The count will take place in the early hours of the morning of January 25, 2019 from 2 a.m.-6 a.m. The core purpose of the annual Point in Time (PIT) Count is to collect data on the needs of people experiencing homelessness in our community. The count also provides an excellent opportunity to increase awareness of homelessness and to spark action. A successful and accurate PIT Count is an essential… Read More
At King County we are a 15,000 strong workforce of people committed to serving our 2.2 million residents, but like many in our community, some employees are facing an unprecedented challenge in finding and keeping a home they can afford in the county in which they work. As we continue to identify strategies to tackle the shortage of affordable housing in our communities, we want to hear from employees: What is your experience as a King County employee trying to buy or keep a home close to your work? What challenges do… Read More
Crossposted from Inside Transportation The newly appointed Deputy Director of the Department of Local Services adheres to a fundamental rule when working to solve problems. Don’t complicate things. “I like to keep things simple,” Danielle de Clercq says. “Break it down to the basics. The simpler we can define the problem, the easier it is to solve.” De Clercq’s approach has helped the Dutch-speaking, outdoor enthusiast empower people throughout her 30-year career. Whether she was shepherding the exponential growth of a solid waste startup, administering health education grant applications worth millions of dollars, or… Read More
Crossposted from Inside Transportation The Metropolitan King County Council on Monday gave its unanimous approval to the appointment of John Taylor to lead the newly formed Department of Local Services that is set to begin operations at the beginning of the year. Taylor, appointed by County Executive Dow Constantine in October, now formally serves as the director of the department that will better coordinate and deliver direct services to the nearly 250,000 people who live in unincorporated King County. “John has worked in the unincorporated area and has already established wonderful working… Read More
Matching commuters with carpool apps As the region prepares to face regional congestion starting after the evening commute January 11, 2019, with the closure of SR 99 through downtown and the permanent closure of the SR 99 Viaduct, King County Metro is partnering with carpooling apps Scoop and Waze Carpool to help match commuters and provide more mobility options to area employees! For a limited time, riders earn discounts and drivers earn bonuses by following these four easy steps: Download a free carpool app (Scoop or Waze Carpool). Enter your trip locations… Read More
King County Information Technology (KCIT) has been recognized for using Microsoft’s HoloLens mixed reality device to train operators at a wastewater treatment plant. Partnering with Microsoft and local tech startup Taqtile earlier this year, KCIT launched a project that provides training to employees working at the West Point Wastewater Treatment Plant, ultimately winning a Digital Edge 50 Award for Digital Transformation. The County will be honored at the AGENDA 19 Conference hosted by CIO.com in March. “We’re thrilled by this national recognition,” said King County CIO Tanya Hannah. “Our fantastic partnership with the King County Department of Natural Resources… Read More
Crossposted from Inside Transportation (Note: Below is an email that Director Harold Taniguchi sent to all Department of Transportation employees.) Dear colleagues, At the end of this month, the nearly quarter-century history of our King County Department of Transportation will come full circle. The department was first created by Executive Gary Locke in 1996 to bring together the related functions of Transit and Roads in King County under one roof called Transportation. Other lines of business were added, and over time our staff strength grew to more than 5,000 today. It is… Read More
Salary: $77,315.26 – $93,468.34 Annually Location: Seattle, WA Job Type: Career Service, Full Time, 40 hrs/week Department: Department of Transportation – Transit Division Job Number: 2018EE09024 Closing: 12/25/2018 11:59 PM Pacific King County Metro’s Marketing and Service Information Unit in the Customer Communications and Services Section of the Mobility Division has a Senior Marketing Communications Strategist (Marketing and Sales Specialist III) position available. This is a senior, individual contributor position responsible for owning marketing strategy and implementation directly related to the success of critical mobility solutions for people who live or work in… Read More
This is the third installment in our video series featuring employees talking about why they chose a King County career. As part of King County’s recruitment efforts we are highlighting how employees feel empowered through their jobs to make a difference in our community. Here meet Marcus, Criminal Justice Policy and Strategy Section Manager. Learn more about our careers at www.KingCounty.gov/jobs.
Starting January 11, 2019, after the evening commute, SR 99 through downtown Seattle will close for approximately three weeks, and the SR 99 Viaduct will permanently close, so make sure you visit kingcounty.gov/getready to review your options and find out which routes are affected. This week, we’re highlighting the King County Water Taxi for employees living in West Seattle, which provides a quick 10 minute sail from Seacrest Park to Downtown, departing every 20 minutes during commute periods. Metro is adding a second vessel at commute times during the closure to increase capacity. Shuttles are… Read More
Crossposted from Tails from RASKC She’s fun for a girl or a boy – she’s Slinky, our Pet of the Week! This young black cat is an affectionate lovebug who likes getting attention on her own terms. She can get overstimulated with petting, so you just need to keep an eye out for signs she may need a break. Since she is so spirited, she’s one of our “Rambunctious Red” pets. Read more at Tails from RASKC Additionally, throughout the month of December, RASKC is offering 50% off dog and cat adoption fees at our… Read More
King County introduced this option earlier this year, which joins KingCare and Kaiser Permanente’s SmartCare Connect as one of three medical plan options available to King County employees. Learn more here.
Conflict Awareness, Jan. 25: We all encounter difficult people. Whether you are a supervisor, a customer service professional, or have a challenging co-worker, it’s important to know how to rise above your initial emotional reaction and turn negative situations into positive outcomes. Topics include understanding why we label people as difficult, types of difficult people, tools and techniques for resolving issues, coping strategies for dealing with the effects of difficult people, and conflict management strategies. Read more and register. Introduction to Mindfulness, Feb. 14: In this workshop we will review the various aspects of mindfulness practice,… Read More
Assistant Archivists Jill Anderson and Amanda Demeter worked with an internal researcher on finding historic maps of the Comet Lodge Cemetery in order to show its changing boundaries over the years. In researching this request, they discovered the cemetery’s colorful history and agreed that the Archives holdings would be a good topic for a future a blog post. Jill and Amanda located a few records that the requestor, an experienced property history researcher, hadn’t found yet himself, and offered some future strategies for getting detailed information about tracing the property size history…. Read More
In addition to discounts for the Summit at Snoqualmie 2018-2019 Season Passes (available through Jan. 7, 2019), employees can now purchase single day tickets at a discounted rate, starting Friday, Dec. 13. For information about how to access these discounted tickets, click here. Click here for more information about Summit at Snoqualmie hours and snow conditions and cameras. See all available discounts on the Employee Discount webpage.