For the past several weeks, residents in Troy have been asking a simple question:
Where is the raw EMS response time data?
Earlier this year, the City of Troy released a summary report describing EMS response times for January. The report was presented to City Council and posted publicly on the City’s website.
But the detailed records used to produce those numbers, the call-level data, have not been released. Those records matter because response time reporting is not just a single number. Response times are calculated from a sequence of timestamps for every emergency call, including:
• When the call is received
• When it is dispatched
• When the ambulance begins responding
• When the unit arrives on scene
Without the underlying records, it is impossible for anyone outside the contractor to independently verify the calculations.
And according to the EMS agreement between the City of Troy and STAR EMS, those records should exist.
What the Contract Requires
Section 2.4 of the EMS agreement requires STAR EMS to submit monthly electronic reports to the City containing several specific types of data. These include:
• Response times
• Dispatch processing times
• Interagency referrals
• Call downgrades
• Other compliance data requested by the City or the Oakland County Medical Control Authority
These metrics are not simple summary numbers. They come from the detailed records generated for each emergency call handled by the dispatch system. The purpose of this reporting requirement is straightforward: it allows the City to monitor whether the EMS contractor is meeting the performance standards set in the agreement.
The Transparency Question
Recently, the City responded to questions about EMS reporting by stating:
“The City has compiled the EMS response time data for January and has provided this report to Council and published it on the City’s website.”
At first glance, that statement seems routine. But it raises an important question.
If the City compiled the EMS response time data, then the City must have received the dataset used to compile that report.
That means one of the following must be true:
• The City received the raw call-level data
• The City received a structured electronic dataset
• The City created its own dataset internally from information provided by the contractor
In any of these scenarios, those materials would constitute records used by the City to produce the report. And records used by a public body to create a public report are generally considered public records.
A New FOIA Request
Based on the City’s own statement that it compiled the EMS response time data, a new Freedom of Information Act request has been submitted. The request simply asks for:
The electronic data the City used to compile the January EMS response time report.
This is not an attempt to generate controversy. It is a basic transparency request. If the City compiled the report, then the dataset used to generate it should exist. And if it exists, it should be available for review.
Why the Raw Data Matters
EMS response times are often presented as percentages or averages. For example, a report might state that ambulances arrived within a target time for a certain percentage of calls. But those summary numbers can only be verified using the underlying records. Without those records, there is no way to independently confirm:
• Whether response times were calculated correctly
• Whether dispatch delays were included or excluded
• Whether calls were downgraded
• Whether certain calls were removed from the dataset
The contract itself references several categories of data, such as dispatch processing times and call downgrades, that cannot realistically be evaluated without call-level information.
Oversight vs. Self-Reporting
Another important issue is how the reporting process actually works. From the information released so far, it appears that:
• The EMS contractor operates its own dispatch system
• The contractor generates the response time metrics
• The City publishes summary reports
What is still unclear is whether the City independently receives and reviews the underlying dataset used to generate those numbers. That is the question the current FOIA request is intended to answer.
Why Transparency Matters
Emergency medical services are one of the most important public safety functions in any city. When response time performance is reported to residents and City Council, the public should be confident that the numbers being presented can be independently reviewed and verified.
Transparency helps build trust.
The goal of the current request is simply to clarify how the EMS reporting system works and whether the City maintains the data used to produce these reports. Once the FOIA response is received, residents should have a clearer understanding of how EMS performance is being measured and reported in Troy.
Until then, the question remains:
Does the City of Troy have the underlying EMS response time data used to compile these reports, or is the City relying entirely on summary numbers provided by the contractor?
Hopefully we will have that answer soon.