Cole County EMS Chief sends letter of resignation

In a letter addressed to CCEMS Employees, Jerry Johnston has announced his resignation with Cole County EMS as the EMS Chief.

Johnston’s last day will be July 6, according to the letter. Johnston took over the position in January of 2017.

His resignation comes after reports of staffing issues and a spike in paid overtime use by employee.

You can read the entire resignation letter below:

CCEMS Employees…

I am disappointed to inform you that I have tendered my resignation with the Commission. My last day as EMS Chief will be July 6th. I informed the commission of my decision last Wednesday, but have delayed announcing this as the commission and I continue to work on a transitional plan that will make me available to provide guidance to the incoming Deputy Chief over the next couple months. The details of that have yet to be worked out; but it was important to me that you hear this from me and not the news or another source.

Let me be completely clear…the decision was mine and mine alone. There are no ‘conspiracy theories’…I was not forced out; I was not asked to resign, etc. It has nothing to do with you, your performance, social media, or any of the current nonsense/noise. Frankly, I have said publicly and truly believe that the dark days are behind us. The letter that I sent to the commission spells out my reasons; I was honest and frank. You can refer to that, once it is made public.

I have nothing but incredible respect for all of you and the work you do every day under very difficult circumstances. I wish you and CCEMS nothing but the best and will remain one of your biggest supporters

~Jerry