Tompkins County legislature directs staff to draft resolution to end Flock Safety contract
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Summary
After hours of debate and public comment focused on privacy and public safety, the Tompkins County Legislature voted 13-3 to direct county staff to prepare a resolution terminating the county's contract with Flock Group Inc. in a manner that preserves eligibility for the GIVE grant.
Deborah Dawson moved that the Tompkins County Legislature "direct the county administrator and the county attorney to prepare a resolution for consideration at our next meeting, terminating the county's contractual relationship with Flock Group Inc., commonly known as Flock Safety, at the earliest possible time and in a manner consistent with the county's grant funding obligations." The motion was seconded by Adam Vincent and passed by roll call, 13 to 3.
The motion does not terminate the contract immediately. Lawmakers said the intent is to give staff and the county attorney time to draft termination language that unwinds the county's relationship with the vendor while attempting to preserve the county's eligibility for related grant funding, notably the GIVE grant and youth-employment funding. County Attorney Maury Josephson and other staff urged careful drafting so termination would not jeopardize those grants.
Supporters of the motion stressed community concerns about Flock as a company and the privacy risks of license-plate-reading networks. "This is not the contractor we want to move forward with in any event," sponsor Deborah Dawson said when she introduced the motion, and added that she had long concerns from her time in federal law enforcement about the company's practices.
Legislator Travis Brooks, who participated in a county working group on the technology, summarized the group's recommendation: "...given the concerns around Flock, from the community, from legislators, that it would be best if we went a different direction." Brooks said the working group included county staff, the district attorney, the sheriff, legislators and the county attorney and that alternatives to Flock will be explored.
Other legislators urged caution about the timing and about public safety trade-offs. Irene Weiser said she would support the motion but asked that alternatives be prioritized for neighborhoods that had relied on the cameras: "There are people in neighborhoods that have been particularly impacted by violent crime that have appreciated these cameras and have found them to help the safety in their communities." Veronica Pillar flagged a procedural deadline: under the county's contract the vendor must be given notice by April 27 or April 28 to avoid auto-renewal; she asked that the resolution clarify how cancellation would interact with the GIVE grant during that tight window.
The public comment period that preceded the vote featured more than 30 speakers. Many urged immediate termination and warned that Flock-style surveillance systems are vulnerable to misuse, data-sharing with federal agencies, and security breaches. Ian Polanski of the Cornell ACLU told the legislature the county had "good reason to denounce the use of Flock cameras in Tompkins County due to their invasion of privacy, lack of oversight, and potential for serious abuses." Several commenters also urged that any alternatives be community-driven and not simply another privately run surveillance system.
Next steps: county staff and the county attorney were instructed to prepare a draft resolution for the legislature's next meeting so members can consider formal termination language and any associated conditions to protect grant funding and public safety continuity.
