King County’s newest department, Local Services now has four service partnership agreements with other county departments that will serve the unincorporated area.

The four partnership agreements were approved by the King County Executive Cabinet on Jan. 22.

The approved agreements include the Department of Natural Resources and Parks – parks division; Department of Natural Resources and Parks – surface water management program, stormwater services; Regional Animal Services of King County; Public Health – Seattle and King County – environmental health services division, on-site septic system, and plumbing and gas piping.

The Department of Local Services and the four departments agree to collaborate on performance tracking and monitoring; strategies to advance King County that enhance efficiency and effectiveness to service delivery, improve fiscal sustainability of services, and implement comprehensive plan policies.

“The agreements put us on the same page with data sharing, creating public improvements, and aligning services,” said Local Services director John Taylor in a release. “This will allow us to better coordinate our resources and work more effectively with the communities we serve.”

Taylor added that through these new agreements, the department will be able to respond more quickly and be more accountable on issues that affect residents and businesses outside city limits.

Local Services will spend the next year creating similar agreements with other service providers and work with other non-King County service providers to create partnerships that could benefit residents and businesses. They will also continue working towards improving their existing agreements as needed.

King County councilmember and chair of the department Kathy Lambert added that she is excited to continue working with the Department of Local Services to better serve the residents of unincorporated King County. To further read the agreements, visit the county’s website at www.king.county.gov.