Agency administrative services merge into new division

Kathy Davis
Communications 

WSDA’s Emergency Management office led efforts to
provide staff and resources, like this Marsh Master, to
assist with recovery efforts after the SR 530 mudslide
disaster in Snohomish County in 2014.

The administrative infrastructure of any organization is like a heartbeat – not visible from the outside, but essential for functioning. At WSDA, various operational units provide services to the entire agency. While that has not changed, how they are organized now has.  

Last August, Deputy Director Patrick Capper and Director Derek Sandison announced that several of these agency functions would be combined into a new Administrative Services Division, headed by Assistant Director Jason Ferrante. 

Employees who’ve been with WSDA for a while may remember that several administrative functions were part of a division many years ago. The configuration has morphed over time.  

Now, the Administrative Services Division consists of:

Jason Ferrante is the assistant
director of the Administrative
Services Division

• Administrative Regulations
• Performance and Planning Management 
• Safety and Risk Management
• Contracts and Purchasing
• Facilities and Fleet Management
• Specialty Crop Block Grant
• Emergency Management and Rapid Response
• Information Technology (added to the division in November) 

Before the current reorg, most of the programs listed above reported directly to Patrick, while others were part of Financial Services or Human Resources. The goal of consolidation is to streamline reporting and take advantage of commonalities and efficiencies. 

“These programs were and are doing a good job,” Jason said. “The structure was an issue of bandwidth for Patrick. That was a lot of individuals reporting to the deputy and a lot of issues to track and manage.” 

Connecting threads

Most WSDA staff doing their day-to-day jobs may not think about how these administrative functions affect them. Consider the following examples.

Jason Gambill, Western Washington safety officer,
consults with Alec Jorgensen in the Weights and
Measures Program about worker safety.

Administrative Regulations manages the rulemaking process, which may result in inspection fee increases or changes to pest or fruit and vegetable standards. They assure standard, high-quality customer forms, and maintain current agency policies that guide how we all work. 

Contracts and Purchasing navigates complex and sometimes convoluted state requirements to make sure workers have the goods and services necessary to do their jobs effectively. 

The Performance Office guides planning and process improvements to keep WSDA moving in the same direction, and free up time and effort through efficiency. 

Safety and Risk Management protects workers from injury and illness, and protects WSDA from legal and financial hazards. 

Facilities and Fleet Management is a one-stop shop assuring that our workplaces and vehicles are safe and appropriate for accomplishing our work. 

Across just these examples, can you see the connecting threads and overlapping purposes?

Ron Hussung, Safety/Risk manager, calls it “unity of effort. The new structure offers more organizational alignment,” Ron said. “We’re better connected and synchronized. For instance, Safety works closely with purchasing and IT on employee ergonomics, which is a significant strategy for preventing injuries.” 

Tracie Lindeblom, Facilities/Fleet coordinator, also pointed to the advantage of working more closely with functions such as safety and contracts. 

“It helps to coordinate and have that built-in communication bridge that did not exist before,” she said. 

Better together

Other managers in the new division also noted the value of joining a family of related services. 

“Being part of the Administrative Service Division has helped further support our program as a whole,” said Randy Treadwell, Emergency Management and Rapid Response, “Weekly communication with division leadership and collaboration on projects that impact the entire agency has helped us move forward on projects that, in some cases, had been in a holding pattern.”

Teresa Norman, commodity commissions and fairs coordinator,
joins WSDA Director Derek Sandison to welcome visitors on
the opening day of the Central Washington Fair. State fairs
oversight is part of the new Administrative Services Division.

“Being folded into the division has helped elevate our issues to Leadership Team,” said Henri Gonzalez, Administrative Regulations manager. 

“As a small program, having an AD keeps us in the loop,” said Leisa Schumaker who leads the Specialty Crop Block Grants Program. “Even something like not having a division coordinator was a broken link. We didn’t have the support other divisions had.”

Several of the division’s managers I spoke with echoed that their mission is to serve all the agency’s employees to make their jobs easier. 

“We’re facilitators,” said Kevin Greene, acting IT lead who previously headed the Contracts/Purchasing team. “The divisions and programs that serve external customers identify the needs. Administrative staff identify solutions that meet those needs, while keeping WSDA within the law.” 

Jason summed up his vision by saying: “My goal for this division is to create an enterprise culture, where agency staff is our customer and we maximize that partnership. Our role is to make employees successful – our success is your success.”  

In summary: Several WSDA functions that serve the entire agency were merged into a new Administrative Services Division, headed by Assistant Director Jason Ferrante. What’s included and how does it affect employees across the agency? Learn more in this post on the Insider blog. 

WSDA heads into session with list of policy and budget priorities

WSDA Policy and Communications Offices

It’s that time of year again! The 2019 legislative session began on Monday, Jan. 14 in Olympia. This biennial budget-writing session will last 105 days and is scheduled to end on April 28. 

WSDA staff, especially the Policy Office and Financial Services, have been working for some months to prepare our legislative priorities. This year, WSDA is proposing five bills for the session; below is a summary of our request legislation. 

Also, in September, we submitted proposed budget packages to the Office of Management and Budget. Several of them were included in Gov. Inslee’s proposed budget, unveiled in December. 

Remember that as this year’s long session progresses, proposed bills, committee hearings, public input, amendments and negotiations between House, Senate and the Governor’s Office will all affect what is ultimately approved into law, or not. These are the very early stages. 

AGENCY REQUEST LEGISLATION

Weights and Measures Fees
The Weights and Measures program needs to update its fee schedule to fully fund operations. The program is supported solely by fees which are no longer sufficient to cover the cost of regulating the accuracy of commercial weighing, measuring, and counting devices. This proposal would set device registration fees, civil penalties, and service agent registration fees at levels that align with costs. 

Livestock Inspection Program Closure
WSDA’s Livestock Inspection Program has reached financial insolvency and cannot continue to operate without fee increases that fully recover program costs. The program is entirely supported by industry fees for licensing, livestock inspections and brand recordings. Fee rates no longer reflect adequate compensation for the services. The program currently has a projected budgetary deficit of nearly $1 million dollars at the end of the 2017-19 biennium. Unless the industry and the Legislature can agree on how to sufficiently fund the program, WSDA must cease livestock inspection services. 

Expansion of the Electronic Cattle Transaction Reporting (ECTR) System
This request legislation expands the use of the ECTR system to all cattle producers, and would provide cattle owners a voluntary alternative to mandatory inspections when ownership changes. Currently the ECTR system is only available to those producers who sell or change ownership on unbranded dairy cattle. This bill allows WSDA to create a modernized livestock movement reporting system that increases data collection for animal disease traceability (ADT).

Extending Dairy Inspection Program Assessment Expiration Date to 2025
The Milk Assessment fee is set to expire June 30, 2020. It allows our dairy inspection program to comply with the federal Grade-A Pasteurized Milk regulatory standards. The work covered by the milk assessment includes inspecting dairy producers, processing plants, pasteurizer operators, milk hauling companies, truck-wash stations, and milk-container production plants. 

Exempting FDA Non-public Information from Disclosure
To protect public health, WSDA collaborates with the Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) during food contamination emergencies. This requires accessing information from FDA, such as private product distribution records, which are confidential and protected from public disclosure under federal law. Washington State law does not allow WSDA to provide the same protection. Consequently, FDA has stopped sharing this important information with us. Inaction could affect up to $5 million in FDA food safety contracts to the state. This legislation would align state and federal law and reopen our access to important federal food safety information.

GOVERNOR'S BUDGET

Pesticide Safety Education - $500,000 
Ongoing funding would establish two additional trainers for WSDA’s pesticide applicator and handler safety training program to increase worker safety, as well as the number of people safely applying and handling pesticides in Washington. Trainings are provided in both English and Spanish.

Shellfish Coordination - $250,000
Ongoing funding from the Aquatic Lands Enhancement Account (ALEA) would continue shellfish coordination activities in the state. The position serves as a liaison to the Governor’s Office, state and federal agencies, and external partners by conducting outreach and assistance to local governments, growers and for interagency coordination. 

Dairy Nutrient Risk Assessment - $200,000 
One-time funding to complete a risk assessment of potential effects of applying dairy manure on non-dairy properties. WSDA would partner with Washington State University (WSU), to assess information gathered and identify options for reducing impacts associated with land application.

Washington State Soil Health Initiative - $750,000
Ongoing funding would establish a collaborative research program with Washington State University to assess soil health across Washington and identify practices that improve soil health conditions. Funding includes establishment of a soil health scientist at WSDA.

WSDA Cannabis Program - $1.27M
Ongoing funding to conduct investigative pesticide testing, regulatory compliance, pesticide registration and compliance. This work has been previously funded through an interagency agreement with the state Liquor and Cannabis Board.

State Data Center Transfer - $326,000 
One-time funding to move WSDA’s internal servers to the required state server system.

Livestock Inspection Program Closure - $244,000
One-time funding to cover the costs associated with closing the Livestock Inspection program if legislation to fully fund the program is not enacted.

FOLLOW POLICY AND LAW

Any private citizen has the right to provide input on pending legislation, or even to provide testimony to the Legislature. 

However, as a WSDA employee, be sure to comply with agency policy regarding political activities (HR-207) and attending legislative meetings (AM-105), as well as state ethics laws. Any personal involvement must be on your own, non-work time and without using state resources, such as computers or cell phones. In addition, you must make it clear that you are NOT representing or speaking on behalf of WSDA. 

In summary: As the 2019 legislative session kicks off this week, WSDA has proposed a number of law changes and budget items for state lawmakers to consider. Read about our agency priorities for the long session on the Insider.

WSDA team focuses on customer in Results Washington design challenge

Vicky Leonard
Performance and Planning Management Office

The Farm to Food Pantry Initiative
sign displayed by Kirsop Farms,
an Olympia Farmers Market vendor.

The Governor’s Results Washington Office asked WSDA’s Performance and Planning Management Office to send a team to the Agency Design Challenge, a two-day workshop to explore and experience the “Design Thinking” problem-solving method. 

This human-centered approach begins by interviewing customers to gain insight about what is important to the target audience. A team uses this information to generate ideas and develop a prototype. Testing the prototype with customers then provides feedback used to shape the result.

The design challenge, held in November 2018, focused on improving customer experience with an email, letter or paper form. The WSDA team challenged itself to reimagine a fact sheet used to increase awareness of the Farm to Food Pantry initiative (F2FP). The fact sheet promotes the benefits to food pantries, lower-income families, and farmers, as well as engaging community businesses to support these efforts. 

Around the table from left, David Bobanick, executive director of Rotary First
Harvest, Nichole Garden, WSDA Food Assistance programs coordinator,
Bobbie Mostyn, Department of Licensing, and Kim Eads, program manager of
Food Assistance.

WSDA’s challenge team included members from the Performance and Planning Management Office, Food Assistance programs, Rotary First Harvest, a program partner, and a farmer who participates in the F2FP initiative. Three Department of Licensing staff were on hand to provide an outside perspective. A coach guided the team’s process.   

The workshop resulted in both a new prototype document, as well as insights about how engaging customers in person and getting outside perspectives can help. 

In addition, the team realized that even a good communication tool does not necessarily work for all audiences. They have since begun work with the Communications Office to make their prototype an official agency document.

WSDA and other state agencies are working to improve customer satisfaction as part of meeting the Gov. Inslee’s goal for efficient, effective and accountable government (Results WA Goal 5). This workshop showed that Design Thinking is one more tool that may help.

In summary: At the invitation of Results Washington, a WSDA team took part in a design challenge, where they used a customer satisfaction approach to redesign a promotional fact sheet for Food Assistance.

A ‘handy’ guide for food portion sizes

Dept. of Commerce, Health and Wellness Committee

Have you been munching and snacking your way toward the new year?

Would you like an early, easy and healthy kick off to your New Year’s resolution between all that eating? You can start with portion sizes, and for that, you just need your hands.

“Unlike a deck of cards, tennis ball, measuring cups or other visual images, hands are always at the table with you,” said Simin Levinson, a clinical assistant professor in the College of Health Solutions at Arizona State University.

And your hands are practical and accurate.

For example, the serving size for:

• Proteins such as chicken, fish or beef is 3 to 4 ounces, which is about the size of your palm.
• Carbs like pasta and rice are about 1 cup, or the size of your fist.
• Fat is about 1 teaspoon per meal, or half a thumb.
• Fruit should fit in the palm of one cupped hand.
• Vegetables should fit in the palms of two cupped hands.

To help get started, see the simple guide of illustrations above that you can use at your next meal.

In summary: For an easy way to eyeball the appropriate portion sizes for your food, look no further than your own hands. This Insider article is courtesy of the Department of Commerce’s Health and Wellness Committee.

Claudia Coles leaves WSDA after long food safety career

Kathy Davis
Communications

Growing up on a dry-land farm in the Red River Valley of North Dakota, Claudia Coles learned a thing or two about agriculture and about food safety. 

Her family, who still grows wheat, barley, beans, corn and sunflowers, had a tradition of volunteering with organizations such as the General Federated Women’s Club, which helped promote and establish the nation’s first food safety laws that eventually became the Food and Drug Administration. 

Claudia will wrap up a 35-year career with WSDA at the end of December, all of it dedicated to protecting our food supply and the public’s health. 

Washington becomes home

When she arrived in Seattle in 1982, she planned to return to the Midwest to pursue graduate studies in food science in Minnesota. But courses at the University of Washington and a student job as a lab tech for WSDA led to a full-time position and her destiny. 

One opportunity led to another and then another. She became a food safety officer in 1990 when the agency’s food and dairy programs merged to become the Food Safety Program. She was promoted to supervisor and then served as program manager for 11 years, beginning in 2000. 

She went on to lead the Office of Compliance and Outreach. Since 2015, she has been the Food Safety and Consumer Protection Division’s policy and external affairs adviser. 

Claudia giving an educational presentation. 

One responsibility of her current role is as the division’s subject matter expert providing strategic direction on implementation of the federal Food Safety Modernization Act, the groundbreaking legislation reforming the nation’s food safety system. 

Claudia has seen many changes in her storied career. 

“WSDA did not have a great reputation in the public health inspection area when I first started in the early 1980s,” she recalled. “With the blended food safety program and focus on public health and regulatory compliance, the agency has since become nationally recognized for our food safety and public health work.”

Making a mark

Claudia’s many career highlights have contributed to that turnaround. 

For instance, she was instrumental in securing FDA cooperative agreements for the Rapid Response Team, Manufactured Food Regulatory Standards, Recall Coordination and ISO Accreditation for our microbiology lab. 

She remembers investigating an illegal raw milk operation that caused at least 15 people, mostly children, to become ill from E coli. Investigators connected the peoples’ pathogens to environmental samples collected at the farm.

Claudia with Gov. Jay Inslee outside the
Governor's Mansion.

“These findings led to legislative changes strengthening state law for raw milk requirements, as well as agency penalty action and federal court action against the farm operation for violating interstate transportation of raw milk,” Claudia said. 

Among the recognition she has received, Claudia cites the FDA Commissioner’s Special Citation Award as one she is most proud of. 

Another highlight was the opportunity to travel to Finland, Russia, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia soon after the Soviet Union broke apart while she was a member of the Ag Forestry Leadership Program’s Class 14. 

What’s next?

But wait – Claudia is not done yet! For her next act, she will take on a new role as president of the Seattle-based Seafood Products Association (SPA), which represents member companies on technical and regulatory issues aimed at safe, quality and legal manufactured food production. 

Claudia’s many WSDA colleagues will miss her, but can be assured that she will continue to work for the safety of our food supply. Thanks Claudia! 

In summary: Claudia Coles departs a long, accomplished career with the Food Safety and Consumer Services Division, retiring from state service at the end of December. What’s next for Claudia? Read her profile on the Insider employee blog.

Watch for some changes in your 2019 paychecks

Kathy Davis
Communications 

You will see some changes on your pay stub beginning in January resulting from new laws approved by the Legislature and changes to costs for medical benefits. 

First, the good news - your base pay will increase by 2 percent starting Jan. 1, due to phased-in cost-of-living adjustments included in the current state budget. Two previous 2 percent hikes occurred in July 2017 and 2018. 

At the same time, some new or increased deductions could offset that pay raise. 

Based on new contracts for health insurance plans, you may pay more for medical coverage through the state. Many, though not all, employer-provided insurance plans are increasing monthly premiums for 2019. Depending on your plan, the increases range from $1 to about $30 per month. 

To compare next year’s premium rates with current, see the Health Care Authority’s medical plan premiums webpage. 

New leave benefit deduction

Beginning with the Jan. 10 paycheck, only WSDA employees whose positions are not represented under a union collective bargaining agreement will see a new deduction to fund the state’s Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) program. 

In 2017, the Legislature created the PFML benefit to cover all private and public employees in Washington State. It offers partially paid leave to:

• Care for yourself or a loved one during serious illness or injury.
• Bond with a new baby or placement of a child under age 18.
• Certain military-connected events when a family member is on active duty. 

While premium deductions begin this January for non-represented positions, workers will not be able to apply for leave through the program until the following year, 2020. 

State government employees and employers share the premium cost for PFML, with employees providing an estimated four-tenths of a percent (0.4%) of gross pay. Non-represented WSDA employees will be notified directly before the Jan. 10 payday with details about what they can expect to see deducted from their paycheck. 

Employees whose positions are represented under either the Washington Federation of State Employees or Washington Public Employees Association collective bargaining agreements – whether they pay member dues or not – will learn how PFML premium deductions will affect them after an agreement is negotiated later in 2019. 

For more information about PFML, see the Washington Employment Security Department webpage on Paid Family Medical Leave.  

Unchanged, probably

The surcharges and premiums listed below will not change for 2019, unless certain personal details change your eligibility and premium level. For instance, reaching a higher age range may trigger increases in life insurance premiums. 

• Spouse or state-registered domestic partner premium surcharge; $50/month.
• Tobacco-use premium surcharge; $25/month.
• Optional life insurance premiums.
• Optional long-term disability premiums. 

For more details about public employee benefits, see the Health Care Authority’s website. 

In summary: While state employees get another pay increase in January, a new deduction and medical premium increases taking effect may also affect your bottom line. It depends. Read about the changes on the Insider employee blog.

Meet the Leaders: Meaning and motivation for Steve Fuller

Kathy Davis
Communications

Welcome to the first of a new Insider series aimed at getting to know our agency leaders. Steve Fuller has worked here for about nine years and is one of our newer assistant directors. He started with the agency as a non-permanent project manager, and worked his way up through program manager and policy adviser positions. I recently asked Steve some questions about leadership, motivation, and making hard choices. Below are his answers.

What led you to take on your current leadership role? 

I really enjoyed working in policy and legislative affairs in the Director’s Office. I got to work on hard issues and I didn’t have to supervise anyone. When it became clear Food Safety and Consumer Services would need a new leader, I gave it a lot of thought. Do I stay in a job that’s comfortable for me or do I take on a whole new set of challenges?

Factored into that decision, I knew the division was undergoing some big changes that I genuinely cared about. Second, I didn’t want to just settle in to the status quo and become the stereotypical state employee. 

Also, the world has felt kind of chaotic. That makes a lot of us feel vaguely adrift and vulnerable and a good leader can be helpful. I wasn’t so foolish as to think I would be a great leader on my first day, but I thought I might have the potential to become a good one. If I could, I had an obligation to try. 

What motivates you?

Several things, but especially my family. My wife is a smart and giving person who is always looking for new ways to help others. Watching her spend her life in service helps me avoid the low-motivation trap. I also have four kids who are counting on me. Some days that feels like a second full-time job. Without them, it would be a lot easier to just go full hermit. My older kids even say thank you once in a while. One sincere thank you can keep my dad heart ticking for a month.

I’m also motivated by all the people working in the division. We’re working really hard to get things done, and I sure don’t want to be the weak link in that chain. 

Steve and his family.

Finding meaning in my work is motivating, and there’s plenty of meaning in the things we’re working on. For example, our Produce Safety Program is building a brand new regulatory program from scratch. People are counting on us to make food safer in a way that doesn’t hurt all the good people who make their living growing food. 

How do you deal with the pressures that come with your role?

I feel responsible for people in a whole different way than I did before, so I’ve had a hard time letting work go at the end of the day.

One thing that’s helping is to stop holding myself responsible for every outcome. We make the best decisions we can with the information we have at the time, observe outcomes and let them improve our decision making next time. I only have the resources to deal with today’s troubles. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

How do you keep your team motivated and encouraged?

I’m pretty new to this gig, but I recognize what a fantastic group of program managers I have on my team. I never realized before just how much program managers have coming at them. They really keep the wheels on. It’s my job to create high expectations, make sure everyone knows what success looks like and that they have the resources to be successful, and then get out of the way. 

I also recently figured out that my wife’s chocolate chip cookies are pretty popular, so they might have to make some more appearances.

What is the driving force behind your leadership?

This one is very personal for me. Public service is a big umbrella, and I want everyone on my team to bring their authentic selves to work each day. For me, I find that my faith informs how I lead and, in my better moments, gives me the desire to do my best and the courage to take chances. I still mess that up all the time, but I’m learning. 

Steve (center) with Food Assistance programs staff, from left: James Scovel,
Nichole Garden, Kim Eads, and Lisa White. 

What leaders (past or present) do you admire? What about their leadership skills do you emulate?

Being a UCLA alum, I’d say the Wizard of Westwood, John Wooden. His basketball coaching success speaks for itself, but it’s his integrity I admire most. He would often remind people that basketball was not the ultimate reality, and much more went into building a whole life. 

One of his sayings that stuck with me -  “If you don’t have time to do it right, when are you going to have time to do it over?”

What was your first job? What’s the weirdest job you’ve ever had?

My first job was as a cashier at Toys R Us (R.I.P.). It was really mind numbing and I felt like I was on display. I hated it so much that I even started to hate the road I drove to work on. And once a company hired me as a temp to “process their billing.” It actually meant “fold the bills.” I literally spent an entire eight-hour shift tri-folding a massive stack of paper. It was awful.

In summary: The first of a new “Meet the Leaders” series on Insider profiles Steve Fuller, assistant director of the Food Safety and Consumer Services Division. Learn what shapes Steve’s leadership style, and what was his first job?