The Walled Lake City Council voted to authorize a contract with Flock Safety to deploy four license-plate reader (LPR) cameras at primary ingress points into the city and gave the city manager authority to execute the agreement, council members said.

Council members approved the purchase after a presentation by a Flock Safety representative and comments from the police and public-safety leadership about how the system has been used in neighboring communities. The council motion authorized a contract for no fewer than four cameras and included implementation fees and the recurring subscription; staff said the city will initially fund the contract from the general fund and pursue support from the Downtown Development Authority (DDA).

The devices would record vehicle license plates and other vehicle “fingerprint” data (make, color, visible features) that Flock’s software indexes. Mike Duchene, a representative of Flock Safety, told the council the system is not a facial-recognition tool and that data retention is set at 30 days. “They’re not facial recognition, and they’re not telling us where you are 24 hours a day, 7 days a week,” Duchene said. He described the system as a searchable, auditable database law enforcement can use to follow a vehicle that moves through a network of cameras maintained by participating jurisdictions.

Deputy Public Safety Director and interim Fire Chief Paul Shikinis emphasized investigative uses and cross-jurisdictional benefits. “If we had a Flock camera on Maple Road, we would know who this person was,” he said, recounting an unsolved shooting at a local plaza where officers said additional camera coverage might have identified a suspect. Shikinis and Flock staff also described alerts that integrate with national crime systems (for example NCIC and Amber Alerts) and said officers must enter a case number and use personal logins to run searches, creating an auditable trail of access.

Cost and coverage were central to the council’s review. Presenters gave a per-camera first-year price of $3,600 (including installation) and $3,000 per camera in subsequent years, plus implementation fees quoted per location. Staff recommended a four-camera start, saying it would “cover the city” and provide access to the shared regional network of cameras maintained by surrounding jurisdictions. Council discussion also considered a seven-camera quote the vendor provided; several members favored beginning with four and returning later to add cameras if needed.

After discussion about timetable and maintenance, council voted to authorize the city manager to execute a contract not to exceed the funding amount the council approved for four cameras and associated fees. Council members voting yes were Mindy Fernandez, Bennett Lublin, John Osenick, Ryan Woods, Linda Ackley and Casey Ambrose.

The police department will coordinate placement and permitting, share access where appropriate with neighboring agencies, and report to the council on deployment and early performance, staff said.