Ron Sims
King County Executive

I am pleased to present the Department of Natural Resources and Parks KingStat Web site. This site helps achieve our goals of improving transparency in government, fostering public involvement and pursuing excellence in public agency accountability.

For the past three years, the Association of Government Accountants (AGA) has honored King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks (DNRP) with the national Certificate of Excellence in Service Efforts and Accomplishments Award for their performance reporting efforts.

Each year AGA has offered DNRP suggestions for improving its performance reporting efforts, which have influenced the development of this Web site. Our goal in developing this site was to allow residents and stakeholders both a quick overview of and detailed information about our region's environmental conditions and how effective this agency is at improving these conditions.

The KingStat program has helped clarify performance reporting expectations for departments, and DNRP is responding by enhancing how its performance information is presented to policy-makers and the public.

These pages combines maps, charts, graphs and narratives to provide a more detailed review of environmental trends, drivers for changes, existing responses and priority new actions.

DNRP is striving to improve the transparency of its performance and engage with King County residents, businesses and other stakeholders toward its goal of sustainable, livable communities and a healthy environment.

The renewed focus on regional collaborative action and the need to improve access to performance and conditions information are driving DNRP to increase reporting frequency and improve accessibility through Web-based reporting.

Performance measures are internal and more directly controlled by DNRP programs and initiatives. Environmental indicators are linked to external conditions, which are influenced by the activities and behaviors of many factors, including households, businesses and other agencies within King County.

I applaud DNRP's leadership in developing this pilot Web site and look forward to a similar presentation of performance information for all county programs in the future.

Theresa Jennings
DNRP Director

For many years, the King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks (DNRP) has successfully used performance information to enhance service delivery, improve program effectiveness and maintain accountability to the public and stakeholder groups.

Presented below is DNRP's current mission and goal statements. The graphs, maps and charts presented in this KingStat Web site summarize changes to environmental conditions and the degree we've achieved our targets.

DNRP mission:

Foster environmental stewardship and strengthen communities by providing regional parks, protecting the region's water, air, land and natural habitats, and reducing, safely disposing of and creating resources from wastewater and solid waste.

DNRP goals:

1. Environmental Quality

   Deliver high quality environmental services that protect and restore the environment, enhance our community, and protect public health and safety.

2. Sustainable Resources

   Create resources from waste, reduce emissions, and increase the efficiency of facilities and operations.

3. Productive Partnerships

   Collaborate with partners throughout the region to achieve improved environmental and community outcomes.

4. Price of Service Be efficient, effective and fiscally responsible to ensure ratepayer value.

As DNRP Director, I am proud to have our performance information serve as the pilot for King County's KingStat Web site. By clearly stating our goals, honestly assessing our progress in achieving those goals, and accurately reporting the results to citizens, stakeholders and other groups, we seek to learn, improve and build public trust.

Indicators and performance measures are compared against both prior years and targets, and results are shown in a simple green/yellow/red color rating. The summary chart is presented on the following two pages.

The indicators and measures that are included in this site have been greatly improved based on robust feedback we've received from key stakeholders. We continue to seek input on these measures, and we anticipate that the performance information we monitor and learn from will evolve to keep us attuned to and engaged with the emerging natural resource priorities of our region.

Past performance reports generated a great response from the community. This feedback helped us establish open lines of communication with a wide variety of interested citizens and user groups. They have told us what matters to them, and we've listened. We are all grateful for their ongoing interest and participation.