Urbana council debates surveillance ordinance language, oversight and data-retention rules; discussion to continue
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Summary
Council members and staff reviewed version 7.2 of a proposed surveillance-technology ordinance covering video, GPS, drones, private cameras, a proposed ban on selling city-held surveillance data, retention/destruction rules, and the potential role of the Civilian Police Review Board; debate continued with requests for clearer public language and legal revisions and was not concluded before adjournment.
The Committee of the Whole continued work on a draft surveillance-technology ordinance (version 7.2), discussing definitions, oversight, data retention, and enforcement but did not reach final agreement before adjourning; the item will be carried to the City Council agenda for further work.
Council member Grace summarized the changes in version 7.2, noting updated definitions and the addition of GPS tracking and drone language and said the edits reflected prior straw-poll outcomes. The draft also includes language intended to prohibit selling surveillance data. The chair asked for simple, clear language saying the city will not sell surveillance data; Council member Mary Alice suggested an explicit prohibition: "the city is hereby prohibited from entering into any contractor agreement to sell data." Counsel said he would review the wording.
Council debated whether the Civilian Police Review Board (CPRB) should have a mandatory role ("shall review") or an advisory/may role in oversight. Mary Alice proposed changing "shall" to "may" to avoid overloading the CPRB; other members said oversight by the CPRB and Human Relations Commission reflects best practices recommended by civil-rights organizations. Council also discussed how often and under what circumstances the council could request reevaluation of approved surveillance technologies without creating an administrative burden; the chair said requests should include a stated justification for reevaluation.
On retention and destruction, members worried about destroying potentially exculpatory evidence without a clear retention window and asked counsel to propose retention periods aligned with records law and evidence preservation. Counsel noted records-retention rules and that destruction would follow city-records processes but agreed to provide more precise language.
Because the item involved detailed legal language and several open policy questions (CPRB role, public-facing prohibition on data sales, retention periods), the committee paused the debate and asked staff and counsel to return with clarified language. The meeting adjourned after the surveillance discussion and will continue the ordinance review at a later council meeting.
Next steps: staff and the city attorney will draft clearer, public-facing language for the prohibition on selling data, propose retention periods consistent with record-keeping and evidence-preservation needs, and offer options for CPRB involvement (mandatory vs. discretionary) for council consideration.
