Verona council votes to decline renewal of Flock Safety contract after residents raise privacy concerns

The Verona Common Council voted to decline renewal of the city’s contract with Flock Safety after residents and some alderpersons urged the city to end what they described as “warrantless mass surveillance.” The motion, brought by Alder Swanson and seconded by Alder Tucker Long, passed with a single no vote from Alder Weiss.

Residents dominated the meeting’s public comment period with concerns about privacy and third‑party control of sensitive location data. Scott Fuller told the council, “I urge the council to remove these cameras now by opting not to renew our contract with Flock Safety,” citing reports of wide data sharing and potential federal access. Several other residents echoed that call and asked the council to perform a transparent, evidence‑based assessment before renewing the contract.

Police leadership defended the department’s use of the system and described investigative results. Chief Chester said the department has three cameras under contract, that contract terms expire in April 2026 and July 2026, and that the vendor’s default data retention for the city is 30 days. Chester said the department had revoked automatic out‑of‑state access to its data and had opted out of national‑ and state‑level lookups that would permit broader access. Lieutenant Fairman provided case examples in which license‑plate data from fixed cameras assisted investigations, including locating stolen vehicles, intervening in a domestic‑violence matter and locating a missing person.

Alder Swanson said the decision was driven by concerns about the vendor’s behavior and national reporting of abusive uses of Flock’s network; Alder Tucker Long urged the police and staff to research local alternatives that would keep data under municipal control. Alder Keller said the vote reflected distrust of the company rather than the local department’s integrity: “This has nothing to do with the Verona Police Department. It does have a reflection on Flock as a company,” he said.

The council did not order immediate physical removal at the meeting; staff noted the contracts’ expiration dates and said they would follow contractual and operational procedures. The council asked staff and the police department to report back about possible alternative vendors and technical options to preserve investigative capabilities while limiting centralized third‑party access to data.

The motion to decline renewal passed in open session; Alder Weiss was recorded as the lone no vote.