Midland firefighters say they passed plan changes; city committed funds, FSRP to follow before Sept. 1

Representatives for Midland firefighters told the Pension Review Board that the local firefighter membership overwhelmingly approved plan changes and that the city has contributed funds to support those changes, and that the parties will submit an FSRP prior to Sept. 1.

Justin Graham said the firefighters “overwhelmingly passed with 88% voting in the affirmative for plan changes,” and that the city “put the money in,” and therefore the FSRP should be submitted well before the PRB’s September 1 deadline.

Taylor Novak, chief of staff for the City of Midland, told the PRB she was speaking for Mayor Long, who was having technical difficulties joining the meeting. Novak said the city and the firefighter retirement board “came to a resolution that will really enhance the collaboration moving forward” and praised the governance changes the parties agreed to.

Graham and Novak described the outcome as the result of collaborative work among the city council, the Fire Retirement Board and the firefighters. No formal question or vote by the Pension Review Board was recorded at this meeting on Midland’s FSRP; the report at the PRB was informational.

The PRB chair thanked the Midland representatives for their work and noted the board could not engage substantively during public comment. The committee then moved on to other agenda items.

No statutory citations or detailed funding amounts were provided to the PRB during these remarks, and the speakers indicated the FSRP itself will be filed with the PRB before the Sept. 1 statutory deadline.