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Warren council allows reconsideration and narrowly approves two-year extension for Flock Safety cameras
Summary
After more than two hours of public comment, the Warren City Council voted 7-0 to allow reconsideration of a prior vote and then approved, 4-3, a two-year extension of the city's Flock Safety license-plate reader contract. Residents pressed for an audit and contract cancellation, citing privacy and security concerns.
The Warren City Council on July 14 voted to allow reconsideration of Councilwoman McGee's earlier vote on the police department's license-plate reader contract and then approved a two-year extension of the contract with Flock Safety by a 4-3 margin.
Chair opened the debate by clarifying that the first vote was only whether to permit reconsideration of McGee's prior vote; if four councilmembers voted to reconsider, the council would then cast a fresh vote on the contract itself. The motion to allow reconsideration passed unanimously.
Dozens of residents addressed the council during the agenda-only public comment period. Gary Watts urged the council to keep the system, calling it "one of the best tools the police department has received" and rejecting social-media criticism as "totally false information." Many others opposed the contract. Bradley Gibbons told the council the cameras "don't just read license plates; they record where vehicles travel throughout our city and store information almost endlessly," and urged cancellation and reallocation of the $132,000 contract to other priorities. Multiple speakers with IT and auditing experience cited reported security vulnerabilities, audit logs showing broad third-party access and examples from other municipalities that had ended similar contracts.
Council discussion before the final vote focused on balancing public-safety benefits against privacy, data-control and procurement concerns. The council first approved reconsideration by voice vote 7-0 and then voted 4-3 to extend the existing award. The four affirmative votes were from Councilwoman Mindy Moore, Council member Jonathan Lafferty, Councilman Boiecki and Councilman Dwyer. Councilmembers McGee, Noonan and Roganci voted no.
Supporters said the tool aids investigations and provides information police can use in vehicle-related crimes; opponents pointed to national contract cancellations, alleged misuse by a small number of officers elsewhere, and contract language and vendor practices they said left residents' data at risk. Multiple public speakers asked the council to order an independent audit of the city's ALPR data and access logs; several asked for the cameras to be removed.
The contract amount, discussed repeatedly during public comment, was presented by speakers as approximately $132,000 for the term under consideration. The council did not, during the meeting, adopt an independent audit directive on the council floor but heard repeated requests to do so.
The item concluded with the contract extension approved 4-3. The council did not announce additional restrictions or an immediate audit plan as part of the approval. Councilmembers who opposed the extension said they would continue to press for oversight and clarity on data retention, access and third-party sharing.
The council moved next to other agenda items and adjourned after public comment and other business.
