County OKs Pull-Out From Center

The Salt Lake County (Utah) Council has voted to dissolve their contract with the Valley Emergency Communications Center (VECC), but only after a period to allow the center to improve operations, and only if the Unified Fire Authority joins the sheriff to create their own public safety comm center. Sheriff Jim Winder is unhappy with the center’s performance, saying he believes there should be more PSAPs within the county, handling telephone calls and incidents directly, rather than from a consolidated center that introduces delays. VECC executive director William Harry says separating out the county’s 911 calls and removing the UFA from VECC would be chaotic and damaging to county residents.