Cole County creates Chief of Emergency Services job description, moves emergency management under EMS for yearlong trial

Cole County commissioners on June 3 voted to approve a job description establishing a Chief of Emergency Services and to begin a one-year trial that places emergency management under the county’s Emergency Medical Services (EMS) agency.

The proposal, presented by county fire leadership, responds to an ongoing vacancy in the county emergency management director post and would make two operational divisions — emergency medical services and emergency management — part of a unified Cole County Emergency Services agency for the trial period.

Chief Gibson, who led the presentation, told commissioners the plan is intended to “provide an operationally viable solution to address the ongoing vacancy in the emergency management position by leveraging our current qualified county employees.” Gibson said the proposal would create a deputy chief of emergency management to assume the duties of the former director (strategic direction, planning, mitigation and disaster coordination) and a division chief to handle day-to-day…