Sunbury council tables proposal to place tracking software on city phones, vehicles

A proposal to require Life360 on city-issued phones and to add tracking devices to some city vehicles was discussed at the March 10 Sunbury City Council meeting and was tabled for further review.

The measure, introduced as a resolution by a council member, would have installed a location-tracking application on devices issued to supervisors and other employees and would have added vehicle tracking to some city-owned vehicles. Proponents said the change would improve accountability and help managers verify work hours and vehicle use during official business.

A council member who spoke in favor said the tracking would be limited to normal working hours and compared the practice to systems used by private firms: “Other places do this. This is nothing new… Pepsi does this. UPS does this. Coke does this,” the council member said. Supporters also noted that police vehicles already have tracking devices.

Other council members and attendees raised concerns about employee privacy and access to location data. Questions included who would have access to location logs, how the system would treat 24‑hour staff, and whether the council had previously approved the practice. One council member said she did not recall voting to authorize tracking in prior years and asked that the council consider limiting any policy to city-issued phones rather than vehicles.

After discussion, the council voted to table the resolution and bring it to a future work session so members could review the proposal and consider amendments.

The tabling preserves the status quo while the council requests additional details on hours of tracking, access controls, and a narrowed scope that some members have proposed.