Troy council replaces volunteer firefighter incentive plan with annual payments; Flock critic cites new federal ruling

A 6-0 council approved the new plan after a public hearing with no opposition, waived bidding for fire promotional testing, passed a nine-item consent agenda and heard DPW announce a 24/7 food waste drop-off.

Troy Thrive · Troy City Council regular meeting, Monday, Oct. 5, 2026 · City Hall, 500 W. Big Beaver Road

TROY — Troy City Council on Monday voted unanimously to terminate the city's 2023 volunteer firefighter incentive plan and replace it with a plan that pays volunteers every year instead of in five- and 10-year lump sums, a change firefighters asked for in a survey last fall.

The vote came at a meeting that ran just under an hour. Six of seven members were present. Council Member Annalisa Bluhm was excused because she was out of the county for work; Mayor Ethan Baker said she was watching the livestream and had submitted a written statement supporting the firefighter plan.

Council also waived formal bidding to hire Troy-based Empco, Inc. for $14,703 to run promotional testing for a staff lieutenant opening created by the death of Staff Lt. Charles Noonan, approved every item on the consent agenda, and heard resident Jason Schwab return to the podium to again speak against the city's Flock Safety license plate reader cameras.

Firefighter incentive plan: lump sums out, annual payments in

Fire Chief Peter Hullinger told council the current plan, adopted April 17, 2023, would end Dec. 31, 2026, and the replacement would start Jan. 1, 2027. Every volunteer's accrued balance under the current plan will fully vest, and volunteers will receive those earned benefits as lump-sum payments after termination, Hullinger said. Under the termination amendment, that vesting applies to firefighters still actively serving on Dec. 31, 2026. The current plan's trust will close after the final payments. The chief said the replacement plan explicitly guarantees no volunteer loses accrued benefits or service credit.

The Volunteer Firefighters Incentive Committee's Station 6 representative, a firefighter with the department more than 10 years who has held that committee seat for seven years, said the committee heard repeated concerns about the long-term tier payments in the 2023 plan. To learn whether that reflected a majority or "a vocal minority," the committee surveyed every firefighter in November 2025. He said 88% responded and 91% of respondents wanted the tier payments made more often, with most asking for annual payments.

He said the committee and city administration began meeting in January, the committee briefed all six stations through their representatives and held four in-person presentations, and that committee members — and, they report, the vast majority of firefighters — support the plan. Mayor Pro Tem Hirak Chanda added that, as he recalled it, 55% of respondents wanted yearly payments and another 20% wanted payments every two years.

What the new plan pays (base rates, from the agenda packet)

• Standard Tier A: $694.86 per month of credited service, for months 1 through 120.
• Standard Tier B: $1,389.72 per month after 120 months.
• Station officers (district chief, station captain, station lieutenant) earn 1.3 times the standard rate: $903.32 (Tier A) and $1,806.64 (Tier B).
• A month of credited service requires meeting department attendance requirements and at least 10 days of active service that month.
• Amounts are credited at the end of each calendar year and, once a firefighter is vested, paid as a lump sum within 60 days after year-end. Rates adjust annually by Michigan's inflation rate multiplier, capped at 5% and never reduced.
• Vesting requires 24 months of credited service for firefighters certified when hired, 36 months for those who are not. Line-of-duty death or disability vests benefits immediately.
• Service months earned before 2027 count toward which tier a firefighter is in, but are not paid again under the new plan.

The resolution also directs City Manager Frank Nastasi to negotiate individual agreements, within 60 days, with volunteers who had at least 25 years of continuous service by May 1, 2025 and served continuously from May 1, 2023 through at least Jan. 1, 2027. Those firefighters were ineligible for the 2023 plan; the agreements are meant to approximate some or all of what they would have received, and each will include a release.

Hullinger noted the 2023 plan required 30 days' advance notice before termination, which council provided Aug. 31. No one signed up or rose to speak during the public hearing.

Council members took turns thanking the committee and administration. Council Member Rebecca Chamberlain said addressing the incentive plan was one of her personal goals for the year. Council Member Theresa Brooks noted the issue had been open since 2023. Baker said most committee members "still have the scars" from the 2023 process, which he described as an emergency, and said this round reflected good dialogue between the committee, city management, legal and the chief. Several volunteer firefighters attended; Baker joked that they should "get back to your stations and train."

Promotional testing contract after staff lieutenant's death

Hullinger said the department needs a new Act 78 civil service eligibility list to fill the staff lieutenant position left vacant by Noonan's death. Council waived bidding and approved Empco, Inc., 1740 W. Big Beaver Road, which the chief said has handled the city's promotional and entry-level testing since 1990. The estimated $14,703 covers a staff lieutenant assessment center ($12,600, based on eight candidates) and a tailored written exam ($2,103). Chamberlain offered condolences to the department and said the outside-testing standard for promotion is something she is proud of.

Recognitions

Royal Oak Leprechauns. Baker read a proclamation honoring the Troy-based Leprechaun Baseball Club, headquartered at the Warrior Baseball Complex on Equity Drive, for winning the 2026 Northwoods League championship — the first title in franchise history — by defeating the St. Cloud Rox 3–1. The team went 19–17 in the first half of Great Lakes East play and 24–12 in the second half under field manager DJ LeMahieu, the former major league All-Star. The proclamation also recognized Troy High School graduate Jon Whiteside, who joined mid-season and went 2–1 with 32 strikeouts in 22 innings and a 5.32 ERA. Planning Commissioner and former council member Dave Lambert was singled out as a top supporter. General Manager Danny Weiss thanked Troy sponsors and fans.

Tree City USA / Arbor Day. Troy has been certified as a Tree City USA by the Arbor Day Foundation for 36 years. Council proclaimed May 7, 2027; May 5, 2028; and May 4, 2029 as Arbor Day in Troy. A city staff member accepted on the city's behalf.

Consent agenda: road plan question

Council Member David Hamilton supported the consent agenda but asked staff, without pulling the item, for a later summary of how the 2026 Transportation Asset Management Plan (J-7) changed from the prior plan given the increase in state Act 51 road funding — specifically how many more miles of local roads would be repaired each year. The plan itself says Troy maintains about 343 centerline miles of road, that 50% of its local road network and 31% of its major road network currently rate "poor," and that about $44 million in road projects are planned over the next three years.

DPW announces food waste drop-off

During council comments, Chamberlain asked staff to preview a new residential food waste program. Public Works Director Kurt Bovensiep said residents will be able to drop food scraps 24 hours a day at the DPW yard at 4693 Rochester Road — "if it grows, it goes," including bones, vegetables and eggshells — with a formal announcement and a QR code sign-up for alerts expected the week of the meeting. Containers will sit beside the existing battery recycling drop-off, and compostable bags will be available on site.

Bovensiep, who is Troy's representative to and chair of the Southeastern Oakland County Resource Recovery Authority (SOCRRA), called the program a "crawl, walk, run" approach. The long-term goal, starting in 2027 as hauler contracts are renegotiated, is curbside collection of food waste commingled with yard waste, composted at SOCRRA's Rochester Hills facility and made available free to Troy residents. He said he is advocating for year-round collection. SOCRRA's consortium agreement expires June 30, 2027; member communities' attorneys are reviewing renewed articles of incorporation, and council should see a resolution in January. Membership terms of 10 or even 20 years are under discussion because of large shared capital investments such as single-stream recycling.

Nastasi said Troy was recognized at the Sustainable Oakland County 2026 summit for moving from silver to gold status in the Michigan Green Communities Challenge.

Summary of actions

Unfinished business and follow-ups

• Parks and Recreation nominations of Kelly Martin and Matt Jansen go to the Oct. 26 regular meeting for appointment.
• Open seats with no nominations made: Downtown Development Authority, Global Troy Advisory Committee, Animal Control Appeal Board, Traffic Committee, and one Parks and Recreation seat.
• Individual agreements with long-serving volunteer firefighters are due within 60 days of the Oct. 5 resolution.
• Hamilton requested a summary of how increased Act 51 road funding changes annual road repair mileage in the new asset management plan.
• SOCRRA articles of incorporation and membership agreement expected before council in January 2027.
• Flock cameras: at the Sept. 28 meeting Baker said council is reviewing the situation; no Flock item was on the Oct. 5 agenda.

Roll-call votes

All five votes passed 6-0. Members voting yes on each: Mayor Ethan Baker, Mayor Pro Tem Hirak Chanda, and Council Members Theresa Brooks, Rebecca Chamberlain, Mark Gunn and David Hamilton. Absent (excused): Annalisa Bluhm.

Public comment

No one signed up to speak on agenda items, and no one from outside Troy signed up. One resident spoke on an item not on the agenda.

• 34:12 — Jason Schwab, Troy resident, returned for at least the second straight meeting to oppose the city's Flock Safety automated license plate reader (ALPR) cameras. He cited United States v. Kyle in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma, where, he said, a deputy followed a car with out-of-state plates without probable cause, pulled about 50 location records across multiple states through Flock and the VehicleManager system, and found 91 pounds of methamphetamine at the traffic stop. Schwab said the judge threw out the evidence as an unconstitutional search, citing the Supreme Court's Carpenter decision and its June 29, 2026 Chatrie ruling. (U.S. District Judge Sara E. Hill issued the suppression order Oct. 1, 2026, in the case against Melisa Kyle; as Schwab acknowledged, it is not binding on other courts.) He tied the case to Police Chief Joshua Jones' Aug. 31 remark that the real risk of Flock is combining its data with other systems. He said a former Oakland County employee ran unauthorized searches after being terminated despite a written policy forbidding it, arguing Troy needs a law rather than a policy. He also referenced a recent hack he said showed Flock can track people, motorcycles and bicycles, and an example from Plano, Illinois, he said involved tracking about 1,200 people over loitering without case numbers. He ran out of time.
• 37:34 — Response: Mayor Ethan Baker thanked Schwab, said he has also seen some of that recent case work and that it is part of his process.

Council comments

• 37:50 — Mayor Ethan Baker highlighted Tom Dwyer's letter of appreciation to DPW's Nick Herzek and Rich Wiles.
• 38:08 — Council Member Mark Gunn thanked Hullinger for the fire department open house and fire safety education; promoted the Battle of the Badges, the charity matchup between Troy police and firefighters, and a fall fest he said is on the 10th; said residents emailed him about Rochester Road construction, which he expects to last two to three weeks; congratulated Clara Assumpta Bunao of Hill Elementary, a winner (essay, grades K–3) of Oakland County's 2026 Juneteenth Art & Essay Contest; and said he would not comment on football games because of his rule to stay positive and avoid profanity.
• 39:24 — Council Member Rebecca Chamberlain thanked the fire department for Fire Prevention Week events, which she said she has attended with her son every year since moving to Troy, including this weekend after returning from San Diego. She asked staff to preview the new DPW food waste drop-off.
• 40:42 — City Manager Frank Nastasi said he attended the Sustainable Oakland County 2026 summit, where Baker spoke and Troy was recognized for advancing from silver to gold in the Michigan Green Communities Challenge, and introduced Bovensiep.
• 41:15 — DPW Director Kurt Bovensiep described the food waste drop-off, battery drop-off and the 2027 curbside goal (see above).
• 44:58 — Council Member David Hamilton asked whether commingled food and yard waste pickup would continue in winter; Bovensiep said he is advocating year-round collection but noted the cost of running trucks through neighborhoods where participation may be low.
• 48:24 — Baker said the food waste program drew the biggest cheer at his State of the City address other than his entrance on a slide.
• 49:30 — Council Member Theresa Brooks thanked Hullinger and the department for Sunday's open house, which she attended at Station 6, and promoted the Frightful 5K on Sunday, Oct. 25, and Nature Center Uncorked on Friday, Nov. 6 — the nature center's largest fundraiser — both at the Troy Community Center. She joked that Uncorked falls right after the election, "perfect timing."
• 51:08 — Mayor Pro Tem Hirak Chanda also attended the open house at Station 6, praised the hands-on demonstrations and the EMS vehicle on display, and promoted the Frightful 5K and the nature center fundraiser.
• 51:56 — Mayor Ethan Baker said he has run every Frightful 5K since the first in 2016 except the COVID year, calling it a rare chance to run Big Beaver with no traffic, and recalled first remembering Hamilton when he ran the race in a Hamilton costume during his council campaign. He said he had been in three parades in the past month — the Athens High and Troy High homecoming parades and the rain-soaked Troy Family Daze parade — and praised the community spirit, while noting Troy High "lost pretty badly the other night."
• 54:32 — Meeting adjourned. No closed session.

What's next

Council's next regular meeting is Monday, Oct. 26, 2026, at 7:30 p.m., when the Troy Historical Society and Fight for Air Climb proclamations are to be presented and Parks and Recreation appointments are expected. Further regular meetings are scheduled Nov. 9, Nov. 16, Dec. 7 and Dec. 14, with a Saturday, Nov. 21 council advance and a Dec. 7 closed session for the city manager and city attorney evaluations.

Sources: City of Troy Oct. 5, 2026 regular meeting video transcript and agenda packet; draft minutes of Sept. 28, 2026. Times are positions in the meeting video. Information on United States v. Kyle from published reports of the Oct. 1, 2026 order.