Whatcom Communications and Public Safety Administrative Board

The most substantive policy discussion centered on addressing the crisis of excessive call volume that is contributing to dispatcher burnout and threatening service sustainability. Justin Rasmussen presented compelling data showing Whatcom handles more non-emergency calls (140,007) than 911 calls (127,842) annually, creating unsustainable stress on a team of only 19 fully trained dispatchers. Research from the University of Washington specifically identifies call volume, rather than traumatic incidents, as the primary cause of telecommunicator burnout and mental health challenges. Board members engaged in detailed exploration of potential solutions, including establishing separate call processing systems for non-emergency calls, potentially staffed by lower-trained personnel. The discussion revealed that many partner agencies direct citizens to…

**Acting Director Justin Rasmussen** advocated for a comprehensive, multi-faceted approach to call volume reduction, emphasizing technology solutions, community education, and process improvements with partner agencies. He stressed the urgency of addressing dispatcher burnout through innovative solutions rather than simply adding more staff to an unsustainable system. **Commissioner Jason Watson** strongly supported developing coordinated messaging campaigns across partner agencies and expressed interest in joint efforts to educate the community about appropriate use of emergency services. He emphasized the need for all departments to work as partners in amplifying consistent messaging about when to call 911 versus other resources. **Chief Van Derby** questioned whether the cost of providing extrem…

**Justin Rasmussen, on community resilience:** "It seems like I hate to use it because everybody uses it as a marker, but it kind of does seem like Covid was an inflection point for the community where some resilience, as the community was lost in some resourcefulness, was lost." **Rasmussen, on call volume impact:** "There's some very interesting research that just came out of University of Washington, specifically looking at public safety telecommunicators, and what causes their burnout and…

The Administrative Board moved from acknowledging staffing challenges to implementing specific solutions, including mandatory sit-along experiences for job candidates and strategic spacing of new hires to prevent trainer burnout. The 24/7 expansion of the third radio position represents a significant operational change that increases service capacity while preparing for anticipated sheriff's office system upgrades. The board shifted from passive acceptance of excessive call volume to active problem-solving, with concrete commitments to develop coordinated messaging campaigns and explore technological solutions like automated warrant confirmations. This represents a fundamental change from viewing high call volume as inev…

### Meeting Overview The Whatcom Communications Prospect Administrative Board met on January 30, 2025, to discuss operational updates, staffing challenges, and progress on the new 911 dispatch facility. The hybrid meeting included board members from multiple jurisdictions and focused on addressing high call volumes, recruitment strategies, and the upcoming $12 million facility construction project. ### Key Terms and Concepts **Whatcom Communications (WHATCOM):** The regional 911 dispatch center serving Whatcom County and its municipalities, handling emergency and non-emergency calls for police, fire, and EMS services. **Public Safety Telecommunicator (PST):** The official term for 911 dispatchers who answer emergency calls, dispatch first responders, and coordinate radio communications. Requires extensive training and state certification as of January 2025. **CAD System:** Computer-Aided Dispatch system that creates incident numbers and tracks calls for service. Used for billing allocation among agencies based on actual incident numbers, not total phone calls received. **Station Alerting Platform:** New technology launched in 2024 that simultaneously alerts multiple fire units via cell phone apps and fiber optic connections, replacing the traditional sequential radio alerting system that could delay some units by up to 60 seconds. **Design Development Phase:** The architectural phase representing approximately 60% completion of building design, preceding the construction documents and bidding phases. **Non-Emergency Line:** The 7-digit phone number (360-676-6911) that citizens should use for non-urgent matters, though these calls still ring into the same dispatch center as 911 calls. **Warrant Confirmation Process:** Time-consuming procedure requiring dispatchers to contact other agencies to physically verify warrant information from paper files, often involving long hold times. **Fall Zone:** The theoretical area where a radio tower could fall, used to determine safe placement distances from adjacent properties. ### Key People at This Meeting | Name | Role / Affiliation | |---|---| | Justin Rasmussen | Acting Director, Whatcom Communications | | Dan McDermott | Fire Chief, Prospect (via phone) | | Adam Hutschreider | Architect, Design Team (via video) | | Bill Haynes | Communications Manager, City of Bellingham (via video) | | Carol | Public Works representative | | Joel | Interim Public Works Co-director | | Jason Watson | Bellingham Pol…