Approving the plan would have cost the city $175,000, or about $100,000 more than what Rock Hill currently pays for fire command staff, Yackley said.

“For that money we would have gotten much more specialized leadership in different skill areas,” Yackley said. “And the departments respond to incidents together all the time anyway.”

Asked if the plan was dead, Maplewood City Manager Marty Corcoran said, “No, it will come back.”

He said he is confident that joint command will work for the remaining municipalities.

“You had five cities in this, OK? One city dropped out, that changes the flavor,” Corcoran said. “We have to take a look at everything, and we don’t have those figures now.”

Although the consolidation would save money in the long run, it is costly in the short term, he said.

“It wouldn’t save money to start with because nobody’s leaving. Everybody’s staying,” Corcoran said.

Still, Corcoran said he believes the plan can work with just the remaining four cities.

Clayton City Manager Craig Owens agreed.