Salt Lake County's 911 plan is on hold

Salt Lake County Sheriff Jim Winder thought he had the deal wrapped up.

But a few hiccups and unexpected legal wranglings have stalled a plan to bolt from the Valley Emergency Communications Center and run all county 911 calls to the sheriff's dispatch center.

On Tuesday, the Salt Lake County Council reversed course and rescinded a resolution passed in November calling for the county's withdrawal from VECC.

"It was no bluff," Winder said. "Unfortunately the operational clarity is there; what has arisen is political uncertainty."

Winder needs the Unified Fire Authority to withdraw from VECC as well to make the proposal work.

But the cities in the Unified Fire Authority aren't unified in the decision to follow suit and ditch VECC. In order to withdraw, the fire authority's governing board must vote unanimously.

That kind of threshold could be tough to meet, Winder said.

UFA's deputy chief, Michael Jensen, said most of the board doesn't care either way and is waiting to see what Taylorsville, Cottonwood Heights and Draper want to do.

"We're trying to figure out a win-win for everybody," said Jensen, who also serves as chairman of the Salt Lake County Council.

The UFA will give the county a decision by June, Jensen said.

Bolting from VECC could cost the county about $1.3 million in both startup and operations costs, Winder said. However, Winder said the county will end up saving $800,000 a year by running its own dispatch center.

In November, VECC Executive Director William Harry said separating the county's 911 calls and removing the UFA from VECC would be chaotic and damaging to county residents.

VECC handles 911 dispatch calls for police, fire and emergency medical services for Draper, Midvale, Murray, Sandy, South Jordan, South Salt Lake, West Jordan, West Valley City and Salt Lake County. Some of the entities that belong to VECC also have agreements with the UFA to handle fires in their area. Harry said removing the UFA from VECC would create too much confusion among all of the dispatch centers.

Winder insists there is a need for more 911 dispatch systems in the county. VECC and Salt Lake City are the only operating dispatch centers.

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E-mail: ldethman@desnews.com