Mission Statement:
To provide efficient and effective public safety call reception and dispatch services for the citizens of Marion and Polk Counties and to ensure user agencies receive the communications support necessary for their successful operation.
The Willamette Valley Communications Center (WVCC) is a regional operation providing 9-1-1 call answering and public safety dispatching service for seventeen (17) police, fire and medical agencies in Marion and Polk counties: Marion County Sheriff’s Office, Marion County Fire District #1, Keizer Police Department, Keizer Fire District, Gervais Police Department, Salem Fire Department, Salem Suburban Rural Fire Protection District and the Salem Police Department are all located in Marion County. In Polk County we provide service to; Polk County Sheriff’s Office, Dallas Police Department, Dallas Fire Department, Southwest Polk Rural Fire Protection District, Polk County Fire District #1, Falls City Fire Department, Spring Valley Rural Fire Protection District, Monmouth Police Department and Independence Police Department.
WVCC was formed in 1991 through the consolidation of three area dispatch centers; Mid-Polk 9-1-1, serving most of Polk County; METCOM (Salem Metropolitan Communications Agency), serving the Marion County Sheriff and Marion County Fire Dist #1; and the City of Salem dispatch center. WVCC is a division of the Salem Police Department and it's 60 member staff are all employees of the City of Salem.
WVCC is divided into three sections:
Dispatch Operations Section: 47 call takers and dispatchers who are trained and certified by the state in Telecommunications and Emergency Medical Dispatch protocol, which enables them to provide medical instruction to callers while paramedics are responding: Six Shift Supervisors, a Training Coordinator and the Operations Manager all work toward providing emergency call and incident handling.
Technical Services Section: 2 technical support staff and the Technical Services Manager, who work to insure the computer systems, telephone systems, radio systems, and mapping systems are kept current for emergency response to events.
Administration: which consists of the Director and Administrative Assistant.
WVCC also contracts it’s CAD (Computer Aided Dispatch) system to Lincoln City Police and Toledo Police Departments, both located in Lincoln County on the beautiful Oregon Coast. Through these cooperative efforts WVCC is able to offer a higher level of technical support than would be otherwise possible for these agencies.
Policy and operational guidance is provided by an Advisory Board made up of the Chief or Sheriff of each of the participating agencies.