History of CENCOM

Kitsap County began to consolidate emergency medical systems in 1973.  In 1974, 9-1-1 was adopted as a federal emergency number and by June of the same year, County Commissioner Lobe announced the selection of Bremerton Police Department Assistant Chief, R. Wes Henry, as the first Central Communications (CENCOM) Director.  The CENCOM of the 1970's was a far cry from the CENCOM of today, however, many of the same values still thrive.

The initial intent was to provide:

- A single emergency reporting number (9-1-1) for all Kitsap County citizens
- Expanded emergency communications network for centralized coordination of police, fire, and medical
- A reduction of response time
- Elimination of 29 seven digit emergency numbers
- Consolidate 12 separate dispatch systems
- The ability for emergency response agencies to exchange information
- Enhancement of overall public safety functions
- The ability to meet increased demand for services 

One consideration was whether CENCOM should be an independent corporation or a public agency.  Initially some agencies declined to participate while others in the county were unable to connect to the new 9-1-1 system.     

The first two years used $386,500.00 from the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation, and additional grants from the private funds of the Law Enforcement Association, federal funds from the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare, and state funds from the Department of Social and Health Services.

The first staff included a director, supervisor, administrative staff, and 20 dispatchers to manage the 24-hour, 365-day operation.  Site design, facility construction, formation of operation policy and procedures were completed by the end of 1976, as well as installation of the electronics system, which included implementation of a  "geofile".

By 1993 9-1-1 had expanded to provide coverage to the entire county and dispatch function for all public safety agencies.  Ongoing funding came from the passage of the telephone tax initiative.  Continued efforts for funding newer and better systems and equipment and proactively planning of the future have been the mainstay of the organization.

CENCOM Today

CENCOM is the Emergency Communication Center in Kitsap County.  It is the only  9-1-1 Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) providing police, fire, and medical emergency dispatch service for cities, tribal agencies, the county sheriff's department, and fire districts.  CENCOM provides 9-1-1 transfer service for the federal installations of Naval Submarine Base Bangor, Naval Station Bremerton, and the Naval Undersea Warfare Engineering Station.  

A Policy Board -- consisting of the three County Commissioners, the Mayors of all four cities, two Bremerton City Council Members and three Fire Commissioners selected by their association -- governs CENCOM.  Additionally, a Strategic Advisory Board (consisting of Police and Fire Chiefs) serves in an advisory capacity.  The current total staffing allocation is 67 employees; divided between management, administration, and operations.

CENCOM is a state-of-the-art communications center using a Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system.  We also have Enhanced 9-1-1 which provides calling party number and location with CAD.  There are eleven, 9-1-1 lines in a trunked system.  We dispatch on six frequencies.   CENCOM continues to look to the future in operational and professional planning.  The training curriculum at CENCOM is widely recognized as one of the finest in the state.  Fiscal needs are addressed at the local, state and national level.  Operational planning assessment constantly moves the center towards meeting the needs of the community as the demographics continue to change.

On May April 22, 2003 a special election was held in Kitsap County that resulted in the passing of Proposition One which allowed for a 1/10th of 1% sales tax increase to provide a permanent, reliable funding source for CENCOM in return for a reduction in property tax.  The results of this special election overwhelmingly showed the support CENCOM enjoys from the citizens of Kitsap County and on the 14th of June, 2005 we moved operations to our new building.

In June of 2008 Ron McAffee retired as Director and Richard Kirton, the former Deputy Director was selected as the new Director.