Employee News
Telling the stories of King County employees
King County Executive Dow Constantine and Chief People Officer Whitney Abrams recently visited King County employees and partners from the Communities of Opportunity program to learn more about their work to create greater racial, economic, and health equity that enables all people in King County to thrive and prosper. “Our goals for Communities of Opportunity line up with the intersection of wanting to see that all people are thriving economically, that all people are healthy, that they have quality, affordable housing, and that they are connected to the community,” Andréa Akita, Director… Read More
The 2017 King County CAFR (Comprehensive Annual Financial Report) and the PAFR (Popular Annual Financial Report) are now available online. The CAFR consists of management’s representations concerning the finances of King County. The financial statements within the report have been audited by the Washington State Auditor’s Office and were prepared according to generally accepted accounting principles that are prescribed by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board for all state and local governments in the United States of America. The PAFR provides an overview of King County’s financial condition with a brief analysis of where revenues come from… Read More
KCIT will deploy a new security tool later this month that will help protect the entire King County network from cybersecurity attacks. The new tool will operate behind the scenes, helping to protect all of our data and systems from both external and internal cyber threats. This deployment should affect neither your computer nor your day-to-day business operations. If you are blocked from a work-approved website or application, either submit a Help Desk Ticket to HelpTicket@KingCounty.gov or escalate the issue through your technical support group.
King County’s PeopleSoft team is at the forefront of adopting new Oracle PeopleSoft features and enhancements. Every quarter, the Business Resource Center continues to deliver new features, improvements and bug fixes to PeopleSoft! This month’s July 23 release offers a lot of improvements, including: Simplified, easy-to-remember URLs (update your bookmarks or favorites) kingcounty.gov (Login from Work – internal King County network) kingcounty.gov (Login from Home – employee self-service) Classic Plus provides a better user experience by delivering pages that look and ‘feel’ more like mobile pages. ElasticSearch is a new-and-improved search engine… Read More
Crossposted from Metro Matters This new class of bus drivers is one for the Metro record books. Among them is Nathaniel Housman (pictured front and center), who joins his father, Tom, and his brother, Jonathan, in driving for Metro. When Nathaniel and his class graduated from their training program on June 22, Metro topped 3,000 drivers for the first time in our history. Just a year ago, Metro was close to 2,850 drivers. Now we have more drivers than ever before, and we’ll continue growing and growing to meet this region’s hunger… Read More
Seattle Magazine ran a great Northwest Travel and Outdoors feature story covering Parks’ and Metro’s Trailhead Direct program. With the support of sponsors REI Co-op and Clif Bar, and many partners throughout the region, Trailhead Direct eases vehicle congestion, reduces safety hazards and expands access to hiking destinations along I-90. Seattle Magazine’s piece provides a great overview, a little bit of history, a few impressive KPIs, and news that the program is gaining the attention of other municipalities. Kudos, Parks and Metro!
You and your spouse or significant other are invited to learn more about the King County Deferred Compensation Plan at education sessions offered throughout the year. In-person sessions are coming up July 17-19. Go online for details and registration. For the complete education schedule and list of webinars, go to the Deferred Compensation web site. If you have any questions, email KCDeferredComp@KingCounty.gov.
Crossposted from GO, Green Team! Though summer is upon us and school is out, remember to keep up the good habits of being environmental stewards you’ve practiced during the school year. During the summer, you can focus your recycling, composting, and reducing at home. Donate any old clothing, including single socks and shoes that have lost their mates. Or use old clothes as cleaning rags. For more information, check out our Threadcycle In need of summer clothes or swim wear? Give clothes a second life, go to your local Goodwill and see… Read More
Congratulations to all of the employees who were recognized at Monday’s Service Awards ceremony in County Council chambers:
Closing: 07/27/18 11:59 PM (GMT -8:00) Salary: $83,012.80 – $105,235.52 Annually Location: King Street Center, Seattle, WA Job Type: Career Service, Full Time, 40 hours per week Department: Natural Resources & Parks – Director’s Office Job Number: 2018-08298 The King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks is looking for a dynamic and innovative preservation professional to serve as King County’s Landmarks Coordinator. Established in 1978, King County’s Historic Preservation Program’s mission is to preserve and protect the county’s significant historic and archaeological resources and enhance public access and appreciation of them…. Read More
If you haven’t already, it’s time to check out and subscribe to Metro Matters. Receive new blog posts as soon as they are published! See what Metro Operator Heidi Barack fashioned out of transfer slips as a tribute to MLK Jr. and Metro. Meet Susan and Jeff; a couple who met on the bus as students – 25 years ago! Learn more about the educational campaign Metro initiated to end sexual harassment and misconduct on their services. Metro took the best of the Metro Matters blog and gave it a fresh, new… Read More
Crossposted from Best Starts for Kids Blog Part 5 of our Community Owned Data blog series This is the fifth and final post in our month-long Community Owned Data series we are doing to highlight our learnings from the Best Starts for Kids Health Survey. If you are interested in the previous posts, we link to them all at the end of this post so make sure you make your way to the end! Putting it all together Last week, we shared what we heard from community members about each of the five key topics we… Read More
Email Help Desk Tickets will become a thing of the past later this summer, as KCIT is preparing to launch a new online Help Desk portal. The new online portal will offer: self-help resources. instant access to service requests. news about outages, attacks and phishing attempts. simple ways to either report problems or request new services. Specific launch details will be shared here as they become available. Departmental IT staff can email Amy Hitchcock with questions.
Crossposted from Tails from RASKC Such a handsome gentleman – Sebastian is our Pet of the Week! This young cat is an affectionate lovebug who would be thrilled to cuddle up with you at home. While he loves being petted on his head, he’s not fond of having his tail touched. Sebastian has a “Rambunctious Red” personality, meaning he’s a spirited cat who loves to play. He may be a bit sensitive to handling, so we think Sebastian would do best in a home with a cat-savvy family who knows when to… Read More
Thursday, August 9, 8:30 a.m. – 12 p.m. What is the difference between mission and vision? Do goals or objectives come first? Who should be involved in developing my plan and how long should it take? This training provides an overview of what strategic planning is, when and why to develop a strategic plan, and how it fits with other management systems and functions. The basic elements and processes used to develop a strategic plan and key issues that need to be addressed with implementing strategic plans will be described. Participants will… Read More
FMD Advisory The Administration Building ADA wheelchair lift at the 5th Avenue entry is scheduled to be replaced. Construction will begin tomorrow, July 12 and the new lift is scheduled to be in operation by September. The ADA-accessible route into the Administration Building will be closed during construction. An alternative route is through the Chinook Building at 401 5th Avenue, proceeding through the tunnel to the first floor of the Administration Building. If you have questions or concerns, please contact the FMD Customer Care Services Team at 206-477-9400 or by email.
Crossposted from Noxious Weeds Blog Beating back noxious weeds is often tough, but knowing the best way to control them can make your job a whole lot easier. That’s why the King County Noxious Weed Control Program is offering a free Weed Control Methods Workshop for homeowners on Thursday, July 12th—join us to learn the best practices and tools for your fight against noxious weeds! When: July 12th, 6:30-8:30pm Where: Meadowbrook Farm Interpretive Center, 1711 Boalch Ave NW, North Bend, WA 98045 How to Sign up: Register Online If you can’t make… Read More
We are expecting hot weather this week and next, with temperatures in the 80s. Now is a great time to remember that, although the sun is beautiful, it can make our work environment warm and uncomfortable for some. The Facilities Management Division (FMD) is committed to your safety and comfort at work, and to running King County buildings as efficiently as possible. To help us all keep cooler as the weather heats up, here are a few tips: Close the blinds in your work area to reduce sunlight streaming in. Keep windows… Read More
Rama ‘RJT’ Tall has been a King County employee since 1990 as a Parks Specialist with the Department of Natural Resources and Parks. He is also one of the employee athletes who represented the State of Washington during the Seattle- and King County-hosted 2018 Special Olympics USA Games. Like Metro’s Jonathan Leckband, featured in Employee News leading up to the games, RJT competed on the soccer field. He and his manager, Parks District Maintenance Coordinator Gary Brown, shared some of RJT’s story before the games began. “I’ve been playing soccer since 1987,”… Read More
Dear Athletes, Coaches, Family Members, Volunteers, Games Partners, Supporters of the Games, and Greater Seattle Community: Thank you! The 2018 USA Games said, ‘Rise with Us’ and you did – with open hearts and minds. You were magnificent hosts. Chairman Tim Shriver, Special Olympics International Over the first week of this month, we hosted approximately 4,000 athletes and coaches, 15,000 volunteers and 70,000 spectators for the 2018 Special Olympics USA Games. We at King County also were the athletes, the coaches, the volunteers, and the spectators – and more! Rama ‘RJT’ Tall… Read More