The pattern held across two years: Trojans, council members, labor unions, and community organizations asked for information and did not get it. The Administration treated non-response as a governing strategy.
FOIL: The System on the Record
Alex Horton, the Mayor’s Records Access Officer, testified at the April 23, 2026 Law Committee meeting that his training consisted of a single in-house walkthrough of the GovQA software system. He could not recall the name of the staffer who conducted it. He estimated spending one to two hours per day on FOIL work. He had never provided an annual FOIL compliance report to the City Council.
Corporation Counsel Morrissey, who could not recall the last time he received FOIL training of any kind, confirmed that he is the person who trained Horton on which exemptions apply to which requests. Morrissey also told the committee that municipalities are not legally bound by opinions of the New York State Committee on Open Government, the state body that exists to advise municipalities on FOIL compliance.
When Trojans appeal a FOIL denial, the appeal goes to Morrissey. There is no one else to appeal to. At the January 22, 2026 Public Safety Committee meeting, a resident identified as Sulka had filed complaints about unanswered FOIL appeals. Morrissey acknowledged he had fallen behind on appeals during an illness. Council President Steele pressed on delays lasting “months and months.”
The council pushed at the April 23 meeting for periodic FOIL compliance reports. No formal action was taken.
There is a state entity for this purpose. The Administration chose not to use it.
The Non-Response Pattern
The failure to respond to good-faith communication was not limited to FOIL. It ran across labor relations, community organizations, and the council itself.
CSEA labor contract. CSEA delivered a draft integrated contract to the city in November 2025. The Administration failed to respond despite multiple follow-up emails from November 2025 through February 2026. When CSEA filed a Taylor Law information request in February with a March 9 deadline, Corporation Counsel Morrissey responded that day with a proposal for a word-for-word, line-by-line review process the union described as “laborious.” CSEA subsequently filed an improper practice charge. Approximately three to four total improper practice charges were pending against the city as of April 2026.
Knickerbacker Park. The Knick Board submitted a 2025 lease renewal proposal. The Administration rejected it as a “non-starter” in December 2025. As of April 2026, the city was five months in arrears on approximately $25,000 in obligations, and the Administration’s position had shifted to claiming the lease runs at $1 per year under a 2007 document, rather than the $5,000 per month established in a 2020 term offer sheet.
Community proposals. Resident Drea Leanza submitted a proposal nearly two years earlier to build owner-occupied homes on a city-owned South Troy lot, with TAP and Habitat for Humanity involved. No response. Resident Natalie Jabau sent a rezoning correction letter in October 2025 to the council and mayor. No response. A resident named Noah emailed Communications Director Horton twice about removed street benches with no reply, then filed a FOIL request. The city said it had nothing on the record. Noah’s assessment: “Either they lied to me or they have really bad records.”
The council itself. Council President Steele wrote to the Administration in June 2025 and every month after, requesting basic documents on the Proctor’s Theater city hall project. She never received a reply.
At the April 23, 2026 Law Committee meeting, David Banks of the Troy Area Labor Council drew the connection directly: the Administration had failed to respond to good-faith outreach from counterparties over extended periods in both the CSEA dispute and the Knick Board situation. Same pattern. Different organizations.
Last-Minute Information
Francis Sweet described the dynamic at the January 8, 2026 public forum: “reports always late, agendas posted at the last minute, information reaching the council hours before a vote.” The city hall project was rushed through with, as he put it, only symbolic public input.
Specific documented instances:
Frear Park bond, December 30, 2025. Resident Jessica Bennett called the city clerk at 3:00 PM the day of the vote and was told no project plans were on file. State law requires SEQR documents to be available 24 hours before a vote. She has a recording.
Non-represented employee policy, December 18, 2025. The city’s personnel policy had not been comprehensively reviewed since 2020 and had expired in 2023. When presented for a vote, Council Member Vera flagged that the Administration had no redlined version showing what had changed. Corporation Counsel Morrissey acknowledged the point. No redline existed.
City hall lease, November 7, 2025. The council voted on a 30-year lease that Corporation Counsel Morrissey acknowledged was still a draft.
City hall project documents. Steele wrote monthly for six months requesting basic project information. No documents were ever provided.
No Consequences
At the January 8, 2026 public forum, resident Frankie Reynolds called for real consequences when the Administration fails to provide mandated financial information: administrative penalties, fines, or censure for ethics violations. “The lack of material consequences gives rise to the kind of boldness and arrogance we’ve seen in the past.”
The council pushed for periodic FOIL compliance reports. It pushed for direct access to bond counsel after the Frear Park bond. It called a special meeting when Carmella vetoed the public hearing on Local Law 4. In each case, it had to fight for information or process the Administration was already obligated to provide.
Trojans deserved better.
Sources: Troy City Council Jan. 8, 2026 meeting transcript; Troy City Council Law Committee and Finance Meeting, April 23, 2026 (transcript); Troy City Council Committee Night and Finance Meeting, January 22, 2026 (transcript); Troy City Council Finance and Special Meeting, December 18, 2025 (transcript); Troy City Council Finance and Regular Meeting, November 6, 2025 (transcript)