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KingCom director: increased storm calls and new testing as hiring priority
Summary
KingCom reported higher calls for service during storm periods, new online testing for telecommunicators and continued hiring efforts; a new telecommunicator, Megan, began July 13, and the agency is moving to more frequent testing to avoid delays.
KingCom's director told the Judicial & Public Safety Committee that July brought increased calls for service and more officer-initiated contacts tied to storm activity and holiday weeks. "We did welcome a new telecommunicator, Megan. She started on the July 13. She has already started answering emergency and nonemergency calls," the director said, noting that staffing remains a top priority.
The director described a multi-step hiring process — skills tests, interviews, background screening and psychological exams — and said recent attrition is driven largely by red flags in background checks. To accelerate hiring, the agency is piloting online testing for the typing and dispatch portions of exams and increasing advertising on platforms such as King County Connects and APCO. Committee members encouraged more frequent testing and offered support to remove obstacles to recruitment.
The director said training remains intensive (six‑to‑nine months to fully train dispatchers) and that management is focused on reducing mandated overtime by stabilizing staffing.
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