[{"_1":2,"_99":-5,"_100":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6455155,"mediaKeyId","5855499-2f4f326993a5beb5368468c922593edc","parentId",5855499,"title","Ferndale police recommend two-year renewal of Flock ALPR pilot, propose scaling back to nine cameras amid community concern","audioSeconds",4135,"startMs",81795,"endMs",4217000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5855499-2f4f326993a5beb5368468c922593edc&start=81&end=4217","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5855499-2f4f326993a5beb5368468c922593edc/thumbnail_81795.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6455155/Ferndale/Oakland-County/Michigan/Ferndale-police-recommend-two-year-renewal-of-Flock-ALPR-pilot-propose-scaling-back-to-nine-cameras-amid-community-concern","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6455155-aab2fbb9eec36cca32394b52a5856195/orig.mp4?Expires=1770638308&Signature=R27C7nbe5~gbc5cGkRJT5wk1TNh9C6y8e7TLH87I0BiOFWrGBB4qxGU46XRLVshYl-s3g8aeS9LFecz3V96af8lijvTDqU8Y9sufalM0FekEYuKfSE81vRS~01kFyEelPypho1gFoEa4sI7hVHVzQuAKWd3cNuepiC8qPV7tLNj-c5ebE5iAhc-fj9hKlPr8mFnZAtXzxA2bGhNzuI7wyJbjo4a305CK-pOTrSPt777STSBZ2IpKI~~srW6UgYx-d2fE65XcWXbh9QqIJKAbv9uxlmSyyZahwA6rEeDc82ykBu8ELKY0HKjRHAQldIGULRzduWmC5MqvoZpK2cdQmQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Ferndale Michigan","date","2025-09-30T13:42:44Z","article","The Ferndale Police Department recommended renewing its Flock Safety automatic license plate reader (ALPR) contract for two years and scaling the system back to nine cameras, the department told the City Council in a lengthy presentation and question-and-answer session.

The recommendation — presented by the police chief and Flock representatives — would reduce the current pilot deployment from 15 cameras (initially 16) to nine placed on major approaches into the city (east‑ and westbound Eight Mile Road, north‑ and southbound Woodward Avenue and Ninth Mile), and fund the two‑year renewal using seized drug‑forfeiture funds. The department provided a per‑camera cost of about $3,000 per year, or roughly $27,000 per year and $54,000 total for two years.

Why it matters: Chiefs and investigators said the network produced investigative leads in violent cases — including homicides, attempted homicides, armed robberies, carjackings and other major crimes — and that the system is a force multiplier for detectives and patrol. Opponents said the contract and Flock’s evolving national policies pose privacy and civil‑liberties risks for Ferndale residents and visitors.

What the department presented

The police chief said the pilot began as a March 2023 council action, with installation delayed by permitting and supply chain problems until February 2024. The department originally installed 16 cameras; eight were purchased with forfeiture funds and eight were paid for by private donations. One donated camera (camera 10) was removed in November 2024 for poor performance, leaving 15 cameras in the pilot. The department’s data review found the highest yield at cameras on state highways and major corridors; the recommendation trims lower‑yield cameras and focuses coverage on inbound approaches.

Department figures presented for a 30‑day sample (July–August) included about 140,000 plate reads per day across the network, roughly 12,000 “hot‑list” hits in that 30‑day window, 123 Ferndale cases investigated that used the system, zero improper traffic stops attributed to misreads (the department said officers verify hits visually before stops), 12 cases cleared by arrest and seven investigative leads generated by Flock data. The chief said other jurisdictions’ uses of Flock contributed to solving homicides and other violent cases where suspects crossed jurisdictional lines.

Policy and technical limits

The department described its local rules: Ferndale’s policy limits archival search access to a small number of investigators and administrators and matches a 30‑day image retention window in the city’s surveillance ordinance. The chief said investigators, not patrol officers, run archive searches; patrol receives only hot‑list alerts in vehicles and must visually confirm before a stop.

Flock and the chief confirmed that in June 2025 Flock changed its national search policy: exact plate matches now return images to searching subscribers to speed critical missing‑person investigations, while the company says it prohibits searches “related to immigration and reproductive health” system‑wide. Flock representatives said aggregated, de‑identified imagery may be retained to train machine‑learning improvements but that jurisdictions own their raw images and that images are “hard deleted” from Flock servers once a jurisdiction’s retention period (here, 30 days) expires.

Community concerns and oversight questions

Residents and civic groups pushed back at the council meeting, citing civil‑liberties risks, Flock’s private ownership and venture‑capital backing, examples from other cities that sought to cancel contracts, and reports that federal agencies had queried networks in the past. Several speakers said they wanted an independent, unbiased evaluation of the pilot’s effectiveness (including a racial equity assessment), more frequent audits of network access and clearer contract language about national lookup and federal access.

Council members pressed multiple technical and contractual questions: what data Flock stores, how the company responds to subpoenas, how national lookup and 1‑to‑1 sharing work, and whether Ferndale can opt out of national lookup. Flock and the chief said: (a) each agency sets retention policy (Ferndale uses 30 days), (b) Flock says it does not “own” jurisdictional images and will notify agencies if served a subpoena (unless a nondisclosure demand prevents notice), and (c) Ferndale can opt out of national lookup at the agency level but that doing so could limit investigators’ ability to follow suspects across state lines. The chief said he is willing to turn off national lookup if the council prefers.

A number of residents urged the council to stop the renewal. Criticisms included reported instances in other jurisdictions where Flock allegedly shared data or resisted uninstall requests, the company’s commercial incentives to expand network access, and the difficulty of ensuring future changes to Flock policy will align with Ferndale’s values. Supporters of renewal said the system has produced leads in serious violent crimes and that it is a legally established investigative tool when used with safeguards.

Next steps

The police department framed the item as a recommendation; the council did not vote on the renewal the night of the presentation. Council members and staff said they expect to review contract language and return the item for decision at a regularly scheduled meeting before Oct. 13, 2025.

Ending: The presentation elicited extensive public comment and numerous follow‑up requests from council for contract text, audit logs, user‑guide screenshots and options to opt out of national lookup. The chief and Flock representatives said they would provide the requested materials and continue conversations with councilors before any renewal vote.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","City of Ferndale City Council Meeting 09-29-2025","oneSentenceSummary","The Ferndale Police Department recommended renewing its Flock Safety ALPR contract for two years and scaling the pilot back from 15 to nine cameras, recommending the cost be paid from drug‑forfeiture funds while councilors and residents pressed for stronger contract language, audits and a racial‑equity review.","taxTitle","Ferndale, Oakland County, Michigan","taxId",70257,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6455150,"Council approves move to BSNA cloud financial system; $214,495 implementation, go‑live targeted fall 2026",1204,7007410,8211840,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5855499-2f4f326993a5beb5368468c922593edc&start=7007&end=8211","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5855499-2f4f326993a5beb5368468c922593edc/thumbnail_7007410.jpg","/articles/6455150/Ferndale/Oakland-County/Michigan/Council-approves-move-to-BSNA-cloud-financial-system-214495-implementation-golive-targeted-fall-2026","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6455150-e2bf5c21a56ee7d0e955389ad2161e64/orig.mp4?Expires=1770638308&Signature=GL3OFMHj-RW9cq385vXIC6kFfR3DvLhGcRokH~4s-3Z2Bxuzz8R0fYVGc1zw6JBt69l~ew4xOjdfIQBW4XS0ohwM4IBv6VLGrUveAVcQW8HrZsJo8cTRm1hNVivoRbSNmUTudLRFZWlnBJYo5wx7YDAiv5qlat2eB3HO3JsssJ1dQrJA1gfMTWsuYKdq~1nJ4wtk9oR7QF9XrkUF~kWm8X483KTMEhhEAZ95vxulPrYelkqIMjjEHp5iSNiX4voLU75OkjDyGQ7F1EUxO-cB3vP4bVbiy83W9rp3wifv5txtOBKn656rNHlhQOdNnuBWsDTrJ3fsaWBIr5m5Sjdt4A__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Ferndale City Council voted to approve the city’s transition of its financial management software from the BSNA .NET platform to BSNA Cloud, authorizing up to $214,495 for implementation and directing the city manager to amend the FY2026 budget to cover the cost.

Vote and action: Council took a roll‑call vote on the motion to approve the implementation and budget amendment. The roll call recorded four votes in favor: Johnson (yes), Polica (yes), Mikulski (yes) and Leaksmae (yes); one council member was absent and excused earlier in the meeting. The motion carried.

Why it matters: City staff said the cloud platform will centralize multiple financial and billing applications, reduce reliance on locally hosted aging servers, improve workflow and user onboarding, provide a knowledge base and in‑app guidance, enable automated reporting for council and departments, and strengthen security (automatic patching, cloud backups and modern multifactor authentication). The finance lead told council the vendor’s first‑year fees are reduced by the dot‑net subscription credit and that the cloud subscription is expected to run about $79,006.70 annually after implementation.

Implementation and timing

City staff outlined a 10–12 month implementation timeline and said BSNA has a queue of municipalities moving to cloud; Ferndale’s target go‑live is by fall 2026 if the implementation begins now. Staff said the project will include a “sandbox” and user‑training period and that workflows should be documented now so the vendor can build them into the cloud implementation.

Budget and recurring costs

The motion authorizes up to $214,495 for the transition (implementation and associated professional services) and allows the city manager to amend the FY2026 budget to reflect the invoices split across implementation milestones. Staff explained the first year includes implementation invoices and an annual subscription credit for dot‑net; the ongoing annual subscription on cloud was presented at approximately $79,006.70.

Next steps and oversight

Staff said they will use the implementation period to document processes, design procurement and approval workflows and set up recurring council reporting dashboards. Council members asked for automated, view‑only dashboard options and recurring budget vs. actual reports for council review.

Ending: Council approved the quote and budget amendment after questions about timeline, user training and recurring reporting capabilities. Staff said they will continue implementation planning and return to finance committee as details are refined.","The City Council approved up to $214,495 to move Ferndale’s financial management system from BSNA .NET to BSNA Cloud and authorized a FY2026 budget amendment, with staff citing improved security, centralized records and automated reporting as the rationale.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6455146,"Council approves consent agenda including opioid settlements, lead service engineering contract and workforce housing covenant",19,6970935,6990210,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5855499-2f4f326993a5beb5368468c922593edc&start=6970&end=6990","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5855499-2f4f326993a5beb5368468c922593edc/thumbnail_6970935.jpg","/articles/6455146/Ferndale/Oakland-County/Michigan/Council-approves-consent-agenda-including-opioid-settlements-lead-service-engineering-contract-and-workforce-housing-covenant","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6455146-1c9bd103060b03d7a50d15d045bdb528/orig.mp4?Expires=1770638308&Signature=PbKNl-ihjaE0gfuxMpkzF8YQe3gZSnHnxPXhNLsZXAq312EK3knpTCY4vaPZUKoebtZMQFO-jOpOdcvHDV3oHo9ntr1-Td9H9Llj4nY9ImGpX8Nn3kUAb2VM1z5cj~bQqOlC~TUgTeVkys-4hZPiYGK0dYSDraOk0UE~CmI0EyfQLwLoHhgjn788skX-6f9~Xra3Zi6AFD04OB75mbPoQpLGXhKXvsI-SoELrCPU~UedsrbCtlOvXL9BWYCZXUbFulHMcvxo8sjBWjShERBp1pQF5b6Z3-silZ90WrUWrDyZNcxYfCGo0B7U8JNxFDBIm12Qtmq-A-48da4RRhgiOg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Ferndale City Council approved the consent agenda, which combined several routine administrative and contractual matters into a single vote.

Items approved (as listed on the agenda): approval of the Aug. 9, 2025 meeting minutes; appointments and reappointments to city boards and commissions; revised council rules of procedure; approval to backfill police command positions; approval of Purdue direct opioid settlement agreement and a secondary manufacturers opioid settlement agreement; approval of a proposal from Hubbell, Roth & Clark, Inc. for engineering services for the lead service line replacement program in an amount not to exceed $70,000; approval of bills and payrolls as submitted by the finance director (subject to finance committee review); and approval of an assignment, assumption and amendment to the workforce housing restrictive covenant for 141 Vester Avenue.

Vote and procedure: A motion to approve the entire consent agenda was made and seconded; council responded “Aye” and the motion carried. One council member (Kelly) had been excused earlier in the meeting. The record indicates the motion carried with those present.

Ending: The council advanced the consent items as a group without separate roll‑call votes for each item. Staff will proceed with the contracts and administrative tasks authorized by the consent vote.","The City Council approved a nine‑item consent agenda that included settlement agreements related to opioid litigation, an engineering services proposal for lead service line replacement, bills and payrolls, and an assignment/amendment to a workforce housing restrictive covenant.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Ferndale police recommend two-year renewal of Flock ALPR pilot, propose scaling back to nine cameras amid community concern

Council approves move to BSNA cloud financial system; $214,495 implementation, go‑live targeted fall 2026

Council approves consent agenda including opioid settlements, lead service engineering contract and workforce housing covenant