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Elk Grove council approves consent calendar that includes Flock ALPR contract amendment after multiple residents urged delay
Summary
Residents urged the council to remove consent item 7.11 — an amendment/expansion of the city's Flock Safety ALPR contract — and to wait for a California DOJ audit; the council approved the consent calendar on a voice vote after the police chief and city attorney defended the city's practices and procurement discretion.
Elk Grove — The City Council on Wednesday approved its consent calendar, including a proposed amendment to the city's Flock Safety automated license plate reader (ALPR) contract, after a lengthy wave of public comment urging the item be pulled and continued until an independent California Department of Justice audit is complete.
Scores of residents raised concerns during the public comment period about the proposed waiver of competitive bidding and the privacy and security of Flock's national data ecosystem. "There is no market analysis, no comparison of vendors, and no cost benchmarking," said Ellen B., urging the council to reject the waiver and require a competitive process. Several other speakers asked the council to suspend any contract expansion until the DOJ completes an audit and to research alternative vendors demonstrating local control and compliance with California law.
The concerns centered on three themes: procurement transparency (speakers said the staff report did not show why competition should be waived), evidence of data sharing in other jurisdictions, and past cybersecurity vulnerabilities reported in the Flock ecosystem. "Our data becomes a part of a national database that has proven to be highly insecure," said Lindsey Hallsell. Rico, an Elk Grove resident, also asked the council to pull the item and "continue it until after the California DOJ has completed an independent audit."
Police Chief (name not provided in the transcript) responded directly to those concerns, saying Elk Grove has not shared Flock data with federal partners and that "no customer data associated with Elk Grove" had been hacked. The chief said the department uses ALPR technology as a tool to help solve crimes and described local safeguards and a decision not to participate in certain state data‑sharing arrangements because of federal representation on those groups.
The City Attorney added a legal clarification, telling the council that it has legislative discretion under the municipal code to award or amend contracts under a "best interest" exception. The attorney said that the proposal is not a sole‑source award and that council discretion allows proceeding without a formal competitive process if members so choose.
After council members thanked residents for their engagement and received staff and legal responses, the council moved and seconded approval of the consent calendar. Members approved the motion by voice vote with those present saying "Aye." The transcript does not record a roll‑call tally specific to item 7.11.
What happens next: Several residents asked the city to request an independent audit by the California Department of Justice; the council and staff did not announce a binding commitment to delay action pending that audit. City staff and the police department offered to meet with concerned residents and follow up, and the police chief said staff would continue to review security and sharing practices.
The council covered the item as part of a broader consent package; no separate council vote that removed or continued item 7.11 was recorded in the meeting transcript.
