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Residents urge Fort Collins to require oversight of private surveillance tools and seek ballot transparency
Summary
Multiple residents told the council they want ordinances, independent audits and municipal control of data for surveillance systems such as automated license‑plate readers; a privacy coalition said its proposed ballot measure seeks transparency and voter approval, not an outright ban.
A wave of public commenters at Tuesday’s Fort Collins City Council meeting urged elected officials to tighten oversight of surveillance technologies, require public‑private contracts to demonstrate civil‑liberties protections, and give residents more say about how data is collected, stored and shared.
Pat Berger, president of the Larimer County League of Women Voters, told the council that public‑private surveillance partnerships have outpaced policy and urged three protections: democratic authorization, judicial oversight and regular transparency reporting with independent audits. “Surveillance partnerships must be approved by elected government bodies,” Berger said.
Marge Norskog and Janice Ord echoed the call for city ordinances and asserted that private vendors should not retain control of data. Ord said Fort Collins “must have the full ownership, custody and control over all data collected,” and she asked the city to write laws limiting how vendors access and retain information.
Speakers representing the Northern Colorado Privacy Coalition described a proposed ballot initiative as a demand for transparency and voter oversight, not a blanket ban. Israel Steyer of the coalition said the effort seeks to ensure residents can see “what data is being collected, who has access to the data, and where the data is being stored.” Several commenters said some surveillance technologies — for example, ALPR systems marketed by private vendors — can create large searchable movement databases that raise civil‑liberties risks.
Technical and security concerns were also raised by IT and cybersecurity professionals aligned with the coalition. Spencer Burris summarized conversations with experts who warned that rapidly evolving technology and newly demonstrated AI vulnerabilities increase the risk of unauthorized access to surveillance systems.
Council members acknowledged the comments and reminded attendees that a council work session on ALPRs and related surveillance technology is scheduled for May 12, and a council memo will be released by April 30. The city announced that staff will post related memos and that further public engagement is forthcoming.
Provenance: the public‑comment cluster on surveillance begins at SEG 836 and includes multiple testimonial segments through SEG 944 and later related remarks and strategy references through SEG 2330.
What happens next: Council has scheduled a dedicated work session on May 12 to examine ALPRs and related surveillance tools; staff will provide memos and materials beforehand.
