ValleyComm 911 director describes high call volume, staffing strain and peer-support efforts on Auburn mayor’s podcast

Vonnie Mayer, executive director of ValleyComm 911, told Auburn Mayor Nancy Backus on the "That So Auburn" podcast that the regional dispatch center now receives calls roughly every 47 seconds and handles more than 1,800 calls a day, placing significant operational and emotional demands on staff.

"I'm in a comm center that every 47 seconds, they're getting a call, which is about over 1,800 calls in a day," Mayer said. "So quite a difference... from back in the late eighties to now." Mayer spoke about staffing, mandatory overtime, mental-health supports and how dispatchers help deliver lifesaving care over the phone.

The exchange came during a recorded conversation released for National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week. The interview, hosted by Nancy Backus, mayor of the city of Auburn, focused on the role of emergency call takers and dispatchers, how the job has changed, and what ValleyComm is doing to support employees.

Mayer described operational realities: ValleyComm uses 10-hour scheduled shifts but relies on mandatory overtime when people are out, and staff can work "up to sometimes 14 hours in a row." She said that shift schedules and frequent overtime make work–life balance difficult and increase job stress for call receivers and radio dispatchers.

"The work home balance can be really disruptive," Mayer said. "They sacrifice holidays. They sacrifice... years." She added that the center sees a higher share of complex, high-priority calls now compared with earlier decades and that dispatchers face language barriers and multiple access channels such as text-to-911.

Mayer highlighted initiatives aimed at reducing harm and supporting staff. ValleyComm maintains an employee assistance program, a peer-support team and a critical-incident response team to help employees after traumatic calls. Mayer said those programs were absent early in her career and that establishing them has been a priority.

"We have a robust peer support team. We have critical incident response team," Mayer said. "We try to take care of the human being first because if we take care of them, they're going to take care of everyone accessing 911."

She also described quality-assurance practices that review calls monthly to ensure staff ask efficient, ordered questions and capture details first responders need. Mayer credited improvements in dispatcher-assisted CPR and AED guidance for better cardiac-arrest outcomes, saying 9-1-1 professionals are now "the best at cardiac arrest saves."

The governance structure for ValleyComm was also noted: Mayer said the center’s owner cities are Auburn, Federal Way, Kent, Renton and Tukwila, and she described support from those cities and partner agencies as important to staff morale and resources.

Host Nancy Backus, identified in the recording as mayor of Auburn, framed the hour as recognition for telecommunicators and emphasized public gratitude. Backus praised ValleyComm’s leadership and asked listeners to remember the human side of the job.

"If they could just bear with us and stay with us, we will be there until those units arrive," Mayer told listeners, stressing patience and trust in call-takers’ procedures. Backus closed the segment by thanking Mayer and urging listeners to recognize the work of ValleyComm staff.

The discussion did not record any formal votes or policy actions. It offered first-hand description of operational challenges, investments in staff wellbeing, and the role of technology and quality assurance in dispatcher performance.