Celebrating another year of achievements
At the end of each year our team takes a moment to review what we have achieved together in the previous 12 months, and looks ahead to what we want to accomplish during the coming year. Each year, looking back, I am astounded by the breadth and impact of our achievements, and 2018 is no exception.
These are just a few of the things we have accomplished this year thanks to your talent, innovative thinking, and hard work. We have put together a slideshow of 18 accomplishments in 2018 to showcase the diversity of our work and the impact we are having. Read more.
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Go Public with Celia
Our final video in our Go Public video series features Celia Jackson, Deputy Director of Government Relations. She also shares about the real impact public service can make.
“Everyone is born with a different level of opportunity and different barriers that they meet, but I think it is our responsibility as local government to do our best to remove those barriers.”
Learn more about our careers at www.KingCounty.gov/jobs.
Deputy Prosecutor gives TEDxSeattle talk
King County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Sam Dinning was recently featured In this TEDxSeattle talk, discussing the difference between equality and equity in criminal justice reform. Sam works within the Juvenile Division and explores how to prosecute cases considering equity instead of equality.
“Criminal justice reform depends on our willingness to reexamine fundamental principles. Pursuing equity, rather than equality, would produce more just and more effective outcomes.”
Payroll deductions for Washington Paid Family and Medical Leave program start in 2019
In 2017, the Washington state legislature passed a bill to create a mandatory statewide Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) insurance program that will provide almost every Washington worker with partial wage replacement while on leave beginning January 1, 2020, to:
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Recover from a serious illness or injury;
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Bond with a new child (through birth, adoption, or foster placement);
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Take care of a seriously ill or injured family member; or
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Participate in certain military-connected events.
Under the state PFML, eligible employees are entitled to up to 12 weeks of family or medical leave, or a combination of the two up to 16 weeks annually. While on leave, you are entitled to partial wage replacement. This will be a percentage of your average weekly wage. It is up to 90% of your weekly wage, with a maximum benefit of $1,000/week. King County employees will also continue to have their existing benefits, which you may choose to utilize instead of PFML. Read more.
Navigate around the SR 99 closure
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.
Fleet Administration Division celebrated with Performance Excellence Award for Cost
On Dec. 12, Chief Operating Officer Casey Sixkiller and Budget Director Dwight Dively visited employees at Fleet Administration Division in Renton to formally present the Executive’s Performance Excellence Award for Cost. Fleet field service mechanics saved 124 hours just in travel time, or $12,300 in savings, in the first six months by adding diagnostic software to field service computers.
Field service mechanics are assigned to various areas of the county including Black Diamond, Fall City, and Redmond to support field crews. When needed, bringing vehicles and equipment into the Renton Shop for repairs is costly considering travel time, effort, and customer downtime. Read more.
Pictured: Chief Operating Officer Casey Sixkiller (far left) and Budget Director Dwight Dively (center) celebrate with members of the Fleet project team who received the Executive’s Performance Excellence Award for Cost. From left to right, the Fleet staff are Chris Gavigan, Cindy Kittleson, Isaac Wisdom, Ben Pritchard, Nora Jagielo, Erik Ferkingstad, and Jennifer Lindwall. Click here for larger image.
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Announcing the Zero Youth Detention data dashboard
King County is pleased to announce the first release of the Zero Youth Detention data dashboard. The dashboard provides the data about the juvenile legal system in King County including specifically highlighting racial disproportionality. The dashboard will show progress on the full range of efforts to achieve the goal of Zero Youth Detention. Read more.
Moving a step closer to one million trees at annual planting event
King County is planting one million trees with partners by 2020 to capture carbon pollution and better prepare for climate impacts. Department of Natural Resources and Parks moved a step closer to this goal by hosting the third annual native tree and shrub planting event for employees.
Planting one million trees in King County by 2020 in cooperation with public and private partners is one of the key strategies in King County’s Strategic Climate Action Plan (SCAP). Currently, King County and partners have planted more than 452,000 trees in King County since 2016. These trees also improve salmon habitat, filter water, and reduce flooding. Read more.
Pictured: Rachel Smith, Executive's Office Chief of Staff, and DNRP Director Christie True participate in the planting one million trees initiative.
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2020 Strategic Climate Action Plan Update – Staff Kickoff Lunch and Learn
All staff are invited to learn about King County’s commitment to confront climate change and understand how to contribute to a major update to the County’s Strategic Climate Action Plan (SCAP) that will start in 2019. The SCAP is King County’s five-year blueprint for County action to confront climate change, integrating climate change considerations into all areas of County operations and our work with communities. Two lunch and learn sessions will be held to outline the SCAP update process and share how staff can engage and contribute ideas. Please RSVP for one of two sessions:
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Tuesday, January 22, from 12:30-1:30 p.m. in King Street Center, 201 S. Jackson St, 8th Floor Conference Center. Register here.
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Tuesday, February 12, from 12:30-1:30 p.m. in the Chinook Building, 401 5th Avenue, Room 123. Register here.
 Pet of the Week: Flower
Let’s get this girl her forever home – it’s Flower, our Pet of the Week!
This sweet girl has a huge personality and a lot of favorite activities! One of her favorite things to do is go for walks and explore. Flower would make a great adventure buddy. She also loves to play fetch and will even bark at you to throw her toy. She’s not always excited about bringing it back though, so playing with two toys at once is a good option for her. Read more.
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Featured Job: Public Administration Graduate Intern
Salary: $19.43 - $24.63 Hourly
Department: DES - Executive Services
Closing: 1/21/2019 11:59 PM Pacific
King County International Airport supports internship programs that provide work experience for students in an accredited post-secondary institution that is related to their course of study. The internship program is designed so that the student will have the opportunity to apply principles and theories learned in the classroom, gain new skills, explore a career path and be supervised and mentored by a professional in their field. The public administration intern will collaborate with the Program and Projects Administrator. The intern will be responsible for assisting with research, report writing, attending briefings, developing databases, data analysis and visualization, program development, and the development of Airport stakeholder outreach and engagement strategies to support KCIA in the implementation of projects as needed. The intern will play a key role in performing document review and contributing to the development of evaluation frameworks for organizational development, programs and projects at the Airport. The internship is intended to build the intern's qualitative research and process evaluation skills and public administration skills. The intern will receive direct supervision and mentorship from the Program and Projects Administrator and will have the opportunity to become engaged in high priority policy topics of relevance to the Airport.
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