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Police present surveillance report; committee approves payments to Flock Safety and a software appropriation referral
Summary
Police Chief Maurice Aguilar presented a report on city camera systems and license‑plate readers; the committee voted to forward a Flock Safety prior‑invoice payment and a $175,000 transfer for police software to the full City Council while requesting more detail about data retention and compliance with the city's surveillance ordinance.
The Budget and Finance Committee on April 27 reviewed a Police Department report on the city's camera systems and license‑plate readers and approved committee referrals for two fiscal items related to camera operations.
Director of Support Services Rosa Shepa asked the committee to authorize payment of prior‑year invoices to Flock Safety and to transfer $175,000 from police administration to a computer software line to cover camera and LPR invoices. Chief Maurice Aguilar summarized a short report the department produced: he said city cameras and license‑plate reader systems assist investigations across homicides, shootings, robberies, illegal dumping and vehicle recovery. "In 2025 alone, it's assisted in over 100 investigations," Aguilar said.
The report, provided to councilors within 24 hours of request, described operating costs the chief summarized as roughly $50,000 annually for city camera maintenance and about $3,000 per leased LPR unit (the department said it has access to roughly 35 Flock units, which the report puts at about $105,000 a year). Aguilar said all camera operations and data sharing are conducted under the supervision of the Police Department's bureau of special investigations.
Councilors asked about data retention, FOIA access and public transparency required by the city's surveillance ordinance (Chapter 9.25). Sergeant Solomon Dar said typical camera feed retention is 90 days and that Flock's retention policy would need separate confirmation from the vendor. Councilor Mark LaPlante and others emphasized the need for public hearings and more retrospective and prospective data about use and retention before further expansion.
After discussion, the committee voted to send the prior‑invoice payment for Flock Safety to the full council as a committee report (without a recommendation) and also approved forwarding the $175,000 transfer request to cover current invoices. Members requested additional reporting on retention periods, FOIA handling and compliance with the surveillance ordinance before full‑council action.
