The Sandoval County Regional Emergency Communications Center, located in Bernalillo, became fully operational on Oct. 22, 2025, when it began handling all 911 and non-911 calls for the county at 9:15 a.m., according to reports published the following day. The activation, confirmed at a county commission meeting and in local media coverage, marks the end of a drawn-out period of partial service that began when the center first opened in July.

When the center initially opened on July 1, 2025, routing failures and vendor-related technical problems prevented it from taking most emergency calls. During that period, many incoming calls continued to be routed through existing dispatch agencies such as Rio Rancho. Continued difficulties prompted coverage in early September noting persistent problems tied to vendor systems. County officials and local media have since reported that those issues were addressed well enough to place the center into full operation on Oct. 22, with the notable exception of calls originating within Rio Rancho, which continues to operate an independent dispatch system.

The transition centralizes dispatch for agencies across Sandoval County, integrating services including the Sheriff’s Office and Fire & Rescue. County leaders have framed the fully operational center as a critical infrastructure milestone for more than 150,000 residents who rely on prompt emergency response. For rural communities such as Cuba and Placitas, where residents regularly face wildland fires, roadway incidents and other emergencies, local officials say centralized dispatch could reduce response time and improve coordination between responding agencies.

The change was confirmed through multiple local outlets on Oct. 23, 2025, including KRQE News 13 and the Rio Rancho Observer, and was referenced in a Town of Cochiti Lake Facebook post that cited an announcement at the Oct. 22 commission meeting. The Facebook post also noted a local reference to Assistant County Manager Eric discussing the update, though formal public statements from county leadership on longer-term metrics have yet to be published.

While the full activation is a key operational achievement, several elements remain to be monitored. Officials and community members will be watching for measurable improvements in response times and interoperability, data that county commission meetings or follow-up reports could provide. Vendor involvement and the technical fixes that resolved earlier failures have been reported but not fully detailed in public sources, leaving aspects of procurement and remediation still partially confirmed.

For Sandoval County residents, the new center promises a single point of contact for emergencies across much of the county and a potential boost to public safety outcomes. The coming months will be important for tracking whether the center meets expectations for reliability and speed, and for ensuring ongoing transparency about performance and vendor relationships as the county moves forward with its centralized emergency communications system.