Mill Creek — During staff reports on Nov. 25 the Police Chief briefed council about the city’s use of Flock license-plate cameras and the limits on sharing the resulting data.

The chief said Mill Creek controls its own network and does not have a data-sharing agreement that grants federal agencies access; the city currently shares camera data only with three agencies within Snohomish County and retains contractual authority to revoke access and require indemnities for misuse. He noted that a national lookup process that had allowed broader federal access was closed to federal agencies on Aug. 25 and that Mill Creek never opened federal access. The chief said some subject-matter categories (for example, immigration and certain reproductive-rights enforcement) are excluded from permitted uses in the city's data-sharing agreement and that public-records requests for camera data are subject to the Public Records Act.

Council members pressed for greater transparency and an additional, focused council discussion in January about Flock, including cost estimates for responding to large public-records requests, disclosure policies, and the risk of downstream data-sharing by other agencies. One council member said she trusts the city’s officers but not the Flock system itself and urged a robust follow-up discussion; another councilor noted that other regional agencies had shut off federal access and reaffirmed the need for policy clarity.

What happens next: Council requested a dedicated study session in January to review the Flock program, data-sharing agreements, public-records procedures and any budgetary implications for responding to large requests. The chief said the city will continue to control sharing and can revoke access if partner agencies violate the data-sharing agreement.