ValleyComm 911 director highlights staffing, mental-health supports and rising call complexity during National Telecommunicators Week

Vonnie Mayer, executive director of ValleyComm 911, told listeners that emergency telecommunicators are handling far more and more complex calls than in previous decades and that the agency is investing in staff wellness and training to keep services steady.

Mayer spoke during episode 2 of the City of Auburn podcast "That's So Auburn," hosted by Nancy Backus, mayor of the city of Auburn, as part of observances for National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week. Mayer said ValleyComm answers calls roughly every 47 seconds — "which is about over 1,800 calls in a day" — and that the work requires a special mix of resilience, critical thinking and a sustained commitment to service.

"You have to be perfect every time," Mayer said, describing the pressure on call receivers and dispatchers. She outlined the center’s current staffing cadence and conditions: comm-room staff typically work 10-hour scheduled shifts but face mandatory overtime and sometimes work up to 14 hours in a row. Mayer said those long hours can strain employees’ work–life balance and that the job’s emotional toll has prompted ValleyComm to build formal supports.

"We try to take care of the human being first," Mayer said, listing an employee-assistance program, a peer-support team and a critical-incident response team as key resources added since her early career. She said those programs grew from a time when dispatchers were excluded from debriefings given to other first responders.

Mayer also described operational advances that have changed the job: the spread of computer-aided dispatch systems, adoption of text-to-911 and improved guidance for telephone CPR and AED assistance for bystanders. "Seconds do matter," she said, noting that quick recognition and coaching by telecommunicators contributes to lives saved in cardiac-arrest cases.

The podcast noted ValleyComm’s governance: the agency is owned by five cities — Auburn, Federal Way, Kent, Renton and Tukwila — and Mayer said that close municipal support helps the center. She also praised long-tenured staff and said the center’s workload now includes more high-priority and complex incidents, language-access challenges and the need to triage information quickly for field responders.

Mayor Nancy Backus, speaking from the podcast, thanked the telecommunicators and said the city appreciates their work. "They are an amazing group of people," Backus said.

Mayer closed by urging callers to stay on the line and answer repeated questions during emergencies, explaining that the information is shared immediately with responders even while call takers continue their assessments. "When they do access 911, we are there for them," she said.

The episode is framed as an informational, public-facing conversation rather than a policy meeting; it reported no formal votes or actions.