When a resident of Pierce County calls 911, their call is routed to the regional call center in Tacoma, which handles nearly 1 million calls each year and works as the communication bridge for the county’s 39 local police and fire agencies.
The center’s operations rely on funds collected through a special excise tax charged monthly to all phone lines. Under state law, revenues from the tax are meant to support the overall operations and maintenance of the public safety answering point, aka the 911 center, which can include such things as improving the technology that identifies a caller’s precise location, and ensuring that the person answering the emergency call is properly paid and supported. The funds are not meant to support the second half of the 911 system, which relates to law enforcement’s response. The dedicated funding stream is critical, especially since 911 call centers across the country have long faced funding struggles, resulting in inadequate or outdated technology, high levels of staff turnover and burnout, and delays in emergency response, which can have deadly consequences.
But in 2022, Pierce County officials used $4.5 million from the restricted tax revenue fund — more than 75% of the taxes collected that year — to install technology at a government building in Tacoma related to the local public safety radio system, a move that state auditors say violates state law and puts federal 911 funding at risk for the rest of the state. Public records obtained by InvestigateWest show county officials repeatedly ignored warnings that they were misusing funds, and that it wasn’t the first time they had diverted 911 funds for unapproved purposes and stood by their decision…