Ten weeks into 2026, Troy still has not released the raw EMS response data required under its contract.
That data is the most basic tool needed to evaluate whether the system is working. Yet in the only Troy City Council meeting this year where EMS response times were even discussed, the conversation revealed a troubling lack of seriousness about an issue that directly affects public safety.
At one point, Councilmember Dave Hamilton suggested that things might be fine because he personally sees ambulances around town.
“I see more ambulances so anecdotally that’s a good sign.”
But simply seeing ambulances driving around, or even responding to incidents, is not how emergency response performance is evaluated.
Public safety oversight relies on actual data:
- Dispatch times
- Response times
- Unit availability
- Call volume
- Mutual aid requests
Without those numbers, council members and residents are essentially operating in the dark. And recent events highlight exactly why that matters.
Just this week, a STAR EMS ambulance responding to a crash on I-75 was itself involved in a rollover accident. Reports from radio traffic and witnesses indicated that once that ambulance went out of service, there were apparently no additional ambulances immediately available in Troy, leaving the original crash scene waiting for medical assistance while replacement units responded from outside the city.
That kind of situation should immediately raise serious questions:
- How many ambulances were actually available?
- Where were they located?
- How long did it take for backup to arrive?
- What happened in the dispatch sequence?
But during the council discussion earlier this year, another response suggested the city was “moving in the right direction”, even though the underlying data has still not been released.
Councilmember Hirak Chanda said during the meeting:
“And we are moving in the right direction, it sounds like we are.” The key phrase there may be “it sounds like.”
Because without the actual response data, there is no way for council or residents to know whether the system is improving, declining, or experiencing serious gaps. Public safety oversight should not be based on what things sound like or what someone happens to notice while driving around town.
It should be based on verified performance metrics and transparent reporting.
Right now, those numbers are still missing. The contract requires EMS performance reporting. Residents have asked for the data. And yet ten weeks into the year, the public still does not have the information needed to evaluate whether Troy’s emergency response system is functioning the way it should.
Public safety is not an area where guesswork, anecdotes, or assumptions are acceptable. Troy residents deserve real transparency, real oversight, and real answers about how their emergency medical system is operating. The first step toward that is simple:
Release the data.
Only then can the city, the council, and the public determine whether Troy truly is moving in the right direction, or whether serious changes are needed.