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Redmond approves $94,968 grant for license-plate-reader pilot, conditions rollout on data-privacy policy
Summary
The City Council accepted a Department of Commerce grant of $94,968 to fund automated license plate readers and amended the implementation to run as a pilot that cannot start until the council approves a comprehensive data-privacy policy; both the amendment and the amended grant acceptance passed 6-0.
The Redmond City Council on Aug. 5 accepted a $94,968 Department of Commerce grant to fund automated license plate readers (LPRs) and added a binding amendment that implementation be run as a pilot and not start until the City Council adopts a comprehensive data-privacy policy.
Council vice president Forsyth moved the amendment, which she framed as a response to community concerns about privacy and the use of new technologies. "So we wanna make sure that we have that data policy set in place prior to the implementation of these new technologies," Forsyth said during debate. Council member Fields seconded the amendment and expressed support for balancing public-safety benefits with privacy protections.
After brief comments from several council members endorsing a phased approach and further policy work, the Council took a roll-call vote and approved the amendment 6 to 0. The Council then voted 6 to 0 to accept the grant as amended.
The staff report identified the action as acceptance of a Department of Commerce grant and a direction to the finance department to recognize the revenue to fund the LPR equipment. The grant amount of $94,968 was stated in the council packet material introduced during the consent-agenda item.
Council members emphasized that the program will be implemented as a pilot to allow staff and the Council to evaluate operations and that a specific data-privacy policy must be in place before activation. Council vice president Forsyth suggested bringing the data-privacy policy back to the Public Safety and Human Services Committee for public discussion prior to implementation.
The meeting record shows no council dissent; the roll-call tallies for both the amendment and the final acceptance were recorded as six ayes and no nays. The Council did not specify an implementation timeline beyond the privacy-policy contingency.
Next steps: staff will proceed with the grant-acceptance paperwork and will return a comprehensive data-privacy policy for Council review before any LPR equipment is activated.
