Oakland County approves single‑source procurements for drone tags, license‑plate software amid strong public protest

The Oakland County Board of Commissioners on May 21 voted to adopt a bundled set of single‑source procurements that include drone tracking devices, lens‑tracking tools and a Motorola license‑plate recognition subscription, drawing sustained public comment and several commissioners’ concerns about procurement process and civil‑liberties safeguards. The resolution passed by roll call; the consent bundle and the regular agenda item that included the purchases carried with 13 yeas and 5 nays.

Why it matters: Residents and civil‑liberties advocates told the board that procurement exceptions are being used too frequently for surveillance technologies that can be aggregated and shared beyond local control. They argued that the county should pause purchases until a countywide unmanned aircraft (drone) policy and stronger privacy protections are adopted.

During public comment a resident opposed to the Flock Safety drone program urged the board to “cancel all Flock contracts in Oakland County,” saying the technology enables prolonged surveillance and carries risks for privacy and misuse, including immigration‑enforcement uses cited elsewhere. Several other speakers described community distrust and asked the board to prioritize community‑based violence‑intervention funding over additional surveillance equipment.

Board discussion focused on procurement process and exceptions. Commissioner Nelson opposed the item on principle, saying the county’s increasing use of single‑source contracts undermines transparency and weakens public trust. Other commissioners supported the purchases for operational reasons but signaled they want clearer justifications and a follow‑up plan to publish privacy safeguards and use restrictions.

The finance chair framed the item as time‑sensitive requests from departments; a commissioner noted a missing date on one vendor’s materials and asked for that to be corrected in procurement records. Multiple commissioners asked that departments return to committees within 60–90 days with plans to reduce reliance on exceptions.

What the county approved: The bundled purchase (item 14a) included drone tag/airspace awareness equipment, lens‑tracking devices, a Motorola investigative license‑plate recognition subscription and a proprietary online safety data platform. The resolution authorizes single‑source procurements as presented; specific contract durations and annual costs were referenced in the packet (one line item for Motorola showed a six‑year subscription with a $35,420 annual subscription noted in committee discussion).

Next steps: Commissioners referred separate resolutions to the public health and safety committee to draft a countywide unmanned aircraft systems policy and to review surveillance‑technology procurement practices. Several commissioners and members of the public asked for published privacy and data‑sharing rules before future technology purchases.