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Commerce City council approves five‑year Flock Safety expansion after hours of debate and public comment
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Summary
Commerce City Council voted to approve a five‑year contract with Flock Safety to expand license‑plate readers, drones and related equipment after a vendor presentation, extended council Q&A and extensive public testimony urging stronger privacy protections. A companion budget amendment recognizing $608,900 for the project also passed.
The Commerce City Council on April 6 approved a five‑year agreement with Flock Safety to lease license‑plate recognition cameras, drones and other equipment, following a lengthy meeting that included a vendor presentation, detailed council questions and more than a dozen public commentators urging caution or stronger safeguards.
Trevor Chandler, senior director for public affairs at Flock Safety, told the council the city "owns 100% of the data" under the company’s revised terms and that raw images are deleted by default after 30 days. Chandler said Flock provides audit logs, user IDs and filters that jurisdictions can opt into to block certain search categories such as reproductive‑health or immigration related queries.
Public commenters were divided but vocal. Resident and cybersecurity professional Trevor Stein urged the council not to approve the contract, warning that Flock’s transitive sharing model can propagate plate‑image data across jurisdictions and into other platforms. Community groups including United for a New Economy and faith‑based advocates asked the council to adopt a universal surveillance‑protections ordinance to create consistent, citywide safeguards regardless of vendor contracts. Several residents described privacy, equity and cybersecurity concerns; others cited instances where the existing system helped recover stolen vehicles or alerted police to gunfire.
Council debate focused on scale, cost, oversight and the length of the commitment. Several council members asked about the contract’s 60‑month term (with a renewal option), the number of cameras proposed (the packet cites 111), audit capability, training for officers and the ability to cancel if the city’s needs change. City staff and Flock representatives said the contract allows municipal control over data sharing and that audit trails persist even after underlying images are purged.
Mayor Pro Tem Tim Noble, who raised concerns about scale and budgetary lock‑in, proposed a North‑side pilot instead of systemwide rollout; that motion failed. Supporters of the agreement, including multiple council members who said they had toured the real‑time crime center and reviewed crime‑clearance metrics, argued the system provides tools that can improve recovery of stolen vehicles, accelerate investigations and help first responders.
The council approved the ordinance on second and final reading and then passed Ordinance 27‑56, an amendment to the 2026 budget recognizing $608,900 to fund the expansion from a mix of Urban Renewal Authority funds, federal forfeiture, capital and general‑fund sources. Earlier the Urban Renewal Authority separately approved a related $8,000 transfer (URA 26‑001) by vote.
City staff said departmental policies (Lexipol/departmental directives) govern operations and that additional policy work and community engagement remain possible. Several council members asked staff to return with model surveillance‑protection language and other community‑driven safeguards. Chandler and Commerce City staff said training, certification and auditing tools will be provided as part of implementation.
Next steps: staff will finalize contract administration and begin procurement/implementation steps; council directed staff to continue community engagement and consider policy responses to concerns raised during public comment.
