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Public forum at Troy council: labor contract delays, surveillance cameras and youth safety concerns
Summary
During the public forum, speakers pressed the council on a months‑long delay in signing a CSEA contract, urged cancellation of the Flock Safety camera contract over privacy concerns, and described youth-safety and community-support programs from the We Are Revolutionary organization.
Multiple residents and organization representatives addressed the council April 9 during the public forum to raise labor, civil‑liberties and youth‑safety concerns.
Bill French, president of the local CSEA (Civil Service Employees Association), told the council that a contract ratified by membership in October 2025 remains unsigned by the city and described months of silence and delays that, he said, forced the union to file charges. “The city's refusal to sign it shows a blatant disrespect for the members of the CSEA,” French said, asking the council for help to get the agreement executed and distributed to employees.
Jordan, a labor relations specialist speaking on the union’s behalf, outlined repeated attempts to obtain confirmation from city officials, filing charges with the Public Employment Relations Board after being ignored, and asked the council to assist in resolving the delay. Jordan said the contract is in effect and that the city's lack of a signed copy leaves members without a printed reference of terms.
Online, Brian Pol (listed in the transcript as Brian Pol/Pass Fernandez) urged the council to cancel the city's contract with Flock Safety Company, a license‑plate reading surveillance vendor. He said the cameras violate civil liberties and worried data could be shared with federal agencies; he asked the council when the Flock renewal would return to the agenda and urged cancellation.
Local youth organizers Anaya (aka Nigh2Fly) and Aleah, representing the nonprofit We Are Revolutionary, described recent violent incidents involving young people and outlined their organization’s programs (Revolutionary Arts, Legal Eagle, Cocoa on the Move) aimed at prevention and community support. Anaya said the community needs trauma‑informed, family‑centered programming as an alternative to punitive systems.
What the council did: The council heard these comments on the public record; no formal votes on the CSEA or Flock contracts occurred during the meeting. Councilors acknowledged the CSEA concerns and asked for information to follow up; the Flock contract renewal had been tabled earlier and was flagged by speakers as an item of continuing interest.
Next steps: Union representatives asked the council for assistance in pressuring the administration to finalize the signed contract; the transcript shows council members accepting the comments and promising to follow up but no immediate administrative action recorded in the minutes.
