SPOKANE, Wash. — Spokane is moving forward with plans to create its own Emergency Communications Center to serve as the city’s primary 911 dispatch hub.
According to the City of Spokane’s draft agenda, the City Council is considering an ordinance that would establish the department, which would handle all emergency calls initiated within city limits. The measure would also update city code, replacing references to the former Combined Communications Center and creating a dedicated Emergency Communications Center Fund to manage revenues and spending.
Sponsored by City Council President Betsy Wilkerson, Councilmember Paul Dillon and Zack Zappone, the ordinance states that the new department would operate the primary public safety answering point, known as a PSAP, along with nonemergency lines such as Crime Check. Duties would also include monitoring alarms, managing relevant databases and overseeing radio communications for police, fire and medical responders.
The proposal follows . The city will be responsible for staffing, technology and infrastructure needed to operate a standalone dispatch center.
Under the proposal, two chapters of the municipal code would be repealed, and sections of two others would be amended to reflect the change. If approved, the city would begin building the department to ensure uninterrupted emergency call service.
The ordinance will have its first reading Monday during the Spokane City Council meeting at 6 p.m.
