Skagit County 911 system struggles with understaffing

MOUNT VERNON — Skagit County’s 911 system is struggling with understaffing and forced overtime that can increase employee stress and burnout.

The approximately 30 workers at the emergency dispatch center worked a total of 17,000 hours of overtime last year, and they are on pace for similar hours this year, The Skagit Valley Herald reported.

Mandated overtime and a budget that is too tight for equipment upgrades are compounding the stress dispatchers face, Skagit 911 director Helen Rasmussen said. The center would need 39 dispatchers to avoid mandated overtime, but it’s only budgeted for 33 positions, Rasmussen said. Because of high burnout and high turnover, the center typically only has 30 on staff at any given time, she said.

To staff radios and take emergency calls, employees need to work four 12-hour shifts per week and often must put in additional overtime.

Dispatcher Melissa Heller said she regularly misses family events, including Christmas and her grandfather’s 89th birthday party.

“Something has to give,” Heller said. “I’m choosing sleep over exercise or maybe my family.”

Rasmussen blames the staffing troubles on a 2003 change in the payment structure by Skagit’s Emergency Management Council, the governing body for Skagit 911. Previously, fire and police departments and emergency medical services paid the center a $43 fee for each call they responded to. In 2003, the county adopted a one-tenth of 1 percent sales tax to support the dispatch center, but it also drastically reduced the per-call fee.

The problem with the change became apparent beginning with the 2008 recession, when sales tax revenues plummeted but call volumes kept increasing.

In addition, Skagit 911 is a mid-sized dispatch center that earns just a little too much money to qualify for much of the state financial aid to small dispatch centers.

County council members say they are aware of the problem and working to fix it. Rasmussen has requested an increase in the per-call fee. Another possibility is hiking up the sales tax another one-tenth of 1 percent.

“Raising per-call fees puts the burden on other emergency services,” Commissioner Ken Dahlstedt said. “Another tax would need to go through the Legislature and then to a vote. There is no overnight fix.”

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Trader Joe’s customers walk in and out of the store on Monday, Nov. 20, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Trader Joe’s opens this week at Everett Mall

It’s a short move from a longtime location, essentially across the street, where parking was often an adventure.

Ian Bramel-Allen enters a guilty plea to second-degree murder during a plea and sentencing hearing on Wednesday, March 6, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Deep remorse’: Man gets 17 years for friend’s fatal stabbing in Edmonds

Ian Bramel-Allen, 44, pleaded guilty Wednesday to second-degree murder for killing Bret Northcutt last year at a WinCo.

Firefighters respond to a small RV and a motorhome fire on Tuesday afternoon in Marysville. (Provided by Snohomish County Fire Distrct 22)
1 injured after RV fire, explosion near Marysville

The cause of the fire in the 11600 block of 81st Avenue NE had not been determined, fire officials said.

Ashton Dedmon appears in court during his sentencing hearing on Tuesday, March 5, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Everett Navy sailor sentenced to 90 days for fatal hit and run

Ashton Dedmon crashed into Joshua Kollman and drove away. Dedmon, a petty officer on the USS Kidd, reported he had a panic attack.

A kindergarten student works on a computer at Emerson Elementary School on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘¡Una erupción!’: Dual language programs expanding to 10 local schools

A new bill aims to support 10 new programs each year statewide. In Snohomish County, most follow a 90-10 model of Spanish and English.

Logo for news use featuring the Tulalip Indian Reservation in Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
Woman drives off cliff, dies on Tulalip Reservation

The woman fell 70 to 80 feet after driving off Priest Point Drive NW on Sunday afternoon.

Everett
Boy, 4, survives fall from Everett fourth-story apartment window

The child was being treated at Seattle Children’s. The city has a limited supply of window stops for low-income residents.

People head out to the water at low tide during an unseasonably warm day on Saturday, March 16, 2024, at Lighthouse Park in Mukilteo, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Everett shatters record high temperature by 11 degrees

On Saturday, it hit 73 degrees, breaking the previous record of 62 set in 2007.

Snohomish County Fire District #4 and Snohomish Regional Fire & Rescue respond to a motor vehicle collision for a car and pole. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene, near Triangle Bait & Tackle in Snohomish. (Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office)
Police: Troopers tried to stop driver before deadly crash in Snohomish

The man, 31, was driving at “a high rate of speed” when he crashed into a traffic light pole and died, investigators said.

Alan Dean, who is accused of the 1993 strangulation murder of 15-year-old Bothell girl Melissa Lee, appears in court during opening statements of his trial on Monday, March 18, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
31 years later, trial opens in Bothell teen’s brutal killing

In April 1993, Melissa Lee’s body was found below Edgewater Creek Bridge. It would take 27 years to arrest Alan Dean in her death.

Logo for news use featuring the municipality of Snohomish in Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
Man dies after crashing into pole in Snohomish

Just before 1 a.m., the driver crashed into a traffic light pole at the intersection of 2nd Street and Maple Avenue.

Bodies of two men recovered after falling into Eagle Falls near Index

Two men fell into the falls and did not resurface Saturday, authorities said. After a recovery effort, two bodies were found.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.