Junction City, Geary Co. work to settle emergency services dispute

JUNCTION CITY (KSNT) - A step has been taken toward resolving a feud between Junction City and Geary County. If it isn’t resolved, ambulance services for everyone in Geary County could be in jeopardy.

Junction city provides ambulance services for all residents in both the city and in Geary County. However, the county claims it got an unexpected bill from the city for a little over $120,000. The city is asking the county to pay those bills, but the county isn't budging.

After a series of public comments and much debate at Tuesday's meeting, city commissioner Jeff Underhill had the idea to counteroffer the county.

Underhill suggested Geary County now has to one, withdraw the resolution they made with their last payment and two, pay all of its 2023 bills in full by Feb. 16, 2024. Junction City commission passed the motion.

"From a city standpoint we believe is that the amount billed for the services we're providing is the amount that needs to be paid," Underhill said. "You don't get to negotiate the amounts paid to other vendors such as Evergy, so we just want the same treatment with our services that are being provided."

The roughly three-month window between now and February buys time for both the county and the city to decide on a better plan of action. Also, it gives the county time to evaluate whether it needs to find a different partner to help provide emergency services in the future.

"Best thing is we need to provide the service to the residents of Geary County, whether they live in the city or the county or people driving through," Gerry Berges, Geary County Emergency Management Director and Fire Chief said. "This gives them time to work on stuff."

The city says the county doesn’t have a choice but to pay this money, but that they're not trying to strip any emergency services away. Both parties want to reach a solution that's best for the people who live here.