Troy city manager won’t be disciplined after scrutiny
Troy — Concerns over the past year regarding Troy’s city manager, including questionable expenditures and practices such as an unreported car accident, have been quietly scrutinized for the past two months, officials confirmed Wednesday.
City attorney Lori Bluhm said no criminal matters occurred and no disciplinary action was required against Brian Kischnick.
Officials have repeatedly declined to comment for the record on the long-rumored investigation until Wednesday when Bluhm issued a City Council statement that matters involving Kischnick had been resolved. The resolution included his agreement to reimburse the city for $1,000 in repairs caused by an unreported traffic accident involving a city-owned vehicle.
Kischnick, who could not be reached for comment, became the city’s $158,105-a-year manager in November 2012. He came to Troy after serving as Tittabawassee Township’s manager.
The meeting was attended by Bluhm, Kischnick and six council members, including Mayor Dane Slater, who declined to go beyond the approved release.
“The consensus of the meeting was that the statement speaks for itself,” said Slater, who said the investigation is concluded.
The statement, approved by the council on Wednesday, said that on June 9, after an unnamed employee reported some questionable expenditures by Kischnick in prior months, it asked a labor and employment law attorney to do a detailed review of concerns which were eventually discussed in closed-door meetings. The report, which will remain confidential, did involve some of the following matters that have been resolved, according to Bluhm.
■Kischnick was at fault for an automobile accident in Clawson and neglected to file the city’s internal accident report form. He had agreed Troy would pay for repair costs to the other driver’s vehicle. Kischnick has now agreed to pay the city’s no-fault insurance obligation of $1,000.
■Kischnick approved an alternative natural gas provider without going through Troy’s contract review process. The transfer was $2,687 more financially favorable to the city. Additionally, he approved an emergency purchase, which will be submitted to the City Council for review and ratification.
■Concerns were raised about Kischnick’s use of a city-owned pool car while simultaneously receiving a $425-a-month car stipend. Kischnick’s contract requires he drive his own vehicle for city purposes in exchange for a monthly stipend but he has reportedly borrowed several city vehicles — including a Ford Escape, a Cadillac and Jeep. The probe determined he is not currently using a city pool car for business or personal purposes.
■The report also reviewed a number of food expenditures, some of them made during the work day. These expenditures were found to be for city purposes.
■Kischnick’s purchase of phone accessories was also reviewed. Based on the concerns raised, he has agreed to provide greater detail about each transaction to document the legitimate purpose of each city expenditure.
“The Troy City Council commends the professionalism of the city employees who raised concerns, which we took very seriously and immediately referred for independent review,” the statement read.
“The Troy City Council acknowledges its fiduciary responsibilities to the Troy taxpayers, and after receiving a comprehensive confidential report, we considered its contents, as well as the city manager’s demonstrated innovation and creativity, his past record of success and future plans to further the City Council strategies, and also his willingness to remediate.
“City Council will closely monitor the progress on each of the strategies we adopted on March 14, 2016, which include the ‘Review of city ordinances to address outdated policies and explore the need for new ordinances.’ ”
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