Riley County commissioners voted Dec. 4 to consolidate the county fire district, emergency medical services and emergency management into a single Emergency Services department, following a presentation by EMS Director David Adams and Emergency Services Director/Fire Chief Russell Stuckey.

Adams told commissioners the reorganization would preserve the same number of positions while redistributing operational fire‑scene leadership to division chiefs and moving administrative duties to a single emergency services director. The proposal adds a training officer position and emphasizes cross‑training and succession planning. Adams said the county expects the consolidation to save roughly $120,000 per year.

Stuckey described the proposed transition timeline: preparatory work and internal reassignments would begin in January, with an implementation period of several months and a target full implementation date of Aug. 1. Commissioners were told the plan includes a period of overlap during which the outgoing fire chief would be available to help with the transition and staff would complete revised job descriptions and required accreditation steps where necessary.

Commission discussion focused on service continuity, response roles and training. Several commissioners asked how operational command at incident scenes would be preserved; presenters said division chiefs and deputy chiefs will retain incident command responsibilities and the emergency services director would maintain overall administrative and emergency‑management duties. Adams added that the change is intended to enhance operational capacity by shifting administrative burden off front‑line supervisors.

Commissioner [unnamed in transcript] moved to approve the consolidation and the motion was seconded and carried. The motion, as recorded in the meeting transcript, does not include a roll‑call vote tally; staff were directed to finalize job descriptions, public communications and the transition schedule and to return with any needed adjustments during implementation.

Next steps include drafting and posting revised job descriptions, establishing training and accreditation timelines, and preparing public messaging about the change. Commissioners were told budgets will remain separate where required (fire district tax funding, EMS/general fund, emergency management/general fund) even though administrative oversight will be consolidated.