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Prescott Regional Communication Center to add agencies, expands coverage and keeps strong answer‑time record
Summary
PRCC director told council the regional dispatch center is bringing on several fire departments, expanding geographic coverage and maintaining response‑time standards; director said the city's share of PRCC liability has fallen as partners join.
The Prescott Regional Communication Center (PRCC) plans to add multiple fire agencies in the coming fiscal year and has sustained high performance on call‑answer metrics, PRCC Director Jim DeLonge told the City Council.
DeLonge said PRCC is expected to bring on seven to eight more fire departments by the next fiscal year, expanding the center’s footprint from about 1,176 square miles to roughly 5,000 square miles and extending coverage west to areas that include Kingman and other communities. He said adding agencies spreads costs and liability among partners: "the city of Prescott's liability is only 46%" of PRCC costs, he said, down from a higher share previously.
Operational performance and finance PRCC reported answering 98.78% of calls in less than 15 seconds and an average call duration of roughly 134 seconds. DeLonge said PRCC expects to return an estimated rebate of $157,000 to the city in fiscal 2025–26 due to growth in partner revenues and continued private ambulance participation.
Why it matters: Expanding the regional dispatch footprint affects response coordination and costs across Northern Arizona. PRCC leaders said the center is scaling without adding new full‑time staff by allocating calls and tasks across partner agencies, which can lower per‑agency costs.
Discussion and next steps DeLonge said PRCC’s growth is largely organic — agencies approached PRCC to join — and emphasized the operational efficiencies of the shared model. The center celebrated its 20th anniversary and described several technological upgrades that support call handling and future integration with automated dispatch tools already being piloted by police and fire.
Ending PRCC’s expansion and strong answer‑time metrics were offered as a demonstration that regional collaboration can spread costs and maintain performance, and staff said they will return to the council with related budget impacts in future fiscal materials.
