Lapeer County Board of Commissioners members on the regular meeting agenda debated whether to authorize the sheriff to buy a 24-camera Flock license-plate reader system, but ultimately tabled the purchase until the board’s January meetings to allow additional public outreach and review.

During the meeting, residents and commissioners pressed the board for more information on data use, retention and outside access. Public commenter Maurice Freid urged the board to hold a public hearing and study the U.S. Supreme Court’s Carpenter v. United States decision and recent Michigan constitutional privacy provisions before approving the purchase, saying the county "should have input from the law enforcement network" and that the issue "affects every citizen no matter what."

Sheriff McKenna, who presented the proposal and has worked on it for months, told the board the department had spent about eight months developing the request and that tabling the item would require repeating that work. Still, the board accepted a motion to delay action until January to give commissioners time to investigate technical and legal questions and to gather public comment.

Commissioner Zender described the Flock system as a license-plate reader that "does not do facial recognition" and that it captures images of the back of vehicles and license plates, not occupants. Other commissioners urged caution. Commissioner McMahon said he saw public-safety utility but worried about long-term data sharing, the system’s five-year contract and the difficulty of reversing the program once installed. Commissioner Nisley said he was "leaning towards it" but supported more outreach to residents and noted pending litigation in other jurisdictions.

The properties committee had recommended purchase with an initial cost of $104,600 and an annual operating fee of $83,500 for four subsequent years, and an associated budget amendment. Because the board voted to table the motion, there was no procurement or budget amendment approved at this meeting.

Next steps: The board will revisit the Flock system at committee and regular meetings in January, allowing time for additional public meetings and further information from staff and law enforcement.