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Council approves application for Operation Lone Star grant to fund four license-plate readers
Summary
The Mount Pleasant City Council unanimously approved Resolution 2025-2 endorsing an application for an Operation Lone Star grant to purchase four license-plate reader units for patrol and K-9 vehicles, a project estimated at about $51,000.
The Mount Pleasant City Council unanimously approved Resolution 2025-2 authorizing the Police Department to apply for funding through the Operation Lone Star grant program to purchase four license-plate-reader (LPR) units.
The Police Chief (name not specified in the public record of the meeting) told the council the project cost is approximately $51,000 and would place two LPR units on K-9 vehicles — which do significant interstate interdiction — and two on patrol units. The chief said LPRs capture license-plate images and compare them against ‘‘hot lists’’ such as stolen-vehicle databases and warrants to generate alerts for officers.
The chief said the grant requires a resolution of support and appears to be fully grant-funded without a local match; the application deadline noted in the presentation is prior to March 14 and any funds would be available in the city’s FY26 budget cycle if awarded. He said the minimum award level was $20,000 and the department’s estimate for installed cost per unit was roughly $12,500, with installation typically around $1,200–$1,250 per unit.
Council members asked practical questions about the program such as the number of patrol vehicles the department operates (the chief said about 12 marked units, including K-9 units), whether the grant has caps (minimum $20,000; maximum requests can be as high as $5 million but larger allocations usually go to larger jurisdictions), and how easily units can be moved between vehicles. The chief described two mounting options — roof-mounted (which requires drilling) and bumper-mounted — and said bumper mounts were under consideration to preserve resale value and reduce roof penetrations.
Council Member Reference moved to approve Resolution 2025-2; Council Member Hinton seconded. The motion passed unanimously.
The Police Department described the LPRs’ intended uses as locating stolen or wanted vehicles, identifying suspects with arrest warrants, and assisting with AMBER and Silver Alert searches for missing or endangered persons. The department said it was pursuing the grant because Operation Lone Star prioritizes interdiction of drug trafficking from border areas and the department believes Mount Pleasant’s traffic patterns may make the city competitive for funding.
