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Public commenter urges referendum before proposed $300,000 surveillance expansion in Michigan City
Summary
During public comment at the July 21 Finance Committee meeting, a resident urged the city to hold a community referendum before approving a mayoral request to expand surveillance — citing license-plate tracking, live-view cameras, doorbell integration into the Flock network, drones and AI — and said the community should be asked before fundamental rights are "surrendered."
A resident told the Michigan City Finance Committee on July 21 that the mayor’s request to expand the city’s surveillance capabilities should be put to voters before funding is approved.
Speaking during the public-comment portion, the Public commenter said the city already "approved tracking my license plate without my consent" and urged the committee to reject further surveillance expansion. The commenter listed proposed or reported enhancements that they said the mayor sought, including "live view cameras capturing real time footage," "integration of community doorbell cameras into the flock network," drones used as "1st responders," and "AI tools to analyze and predict our behavior." The speaker said the proposal amounted to a dramatic expansion of surveillance and called for a referendum before spending "another $300,000 in expanding this is this surveillance network."
The Public commenter framed the request as a constitutional issue, saying fundamental rights including the Fourth Amendment were at stake and asking, "Do you want to live in a surveilled city or a free 1?" The commenter closed saying, "I'm a no on this appropriation."
Committee members did not take formal action on the surveillance topic during the meeting; the comment was recorded as part of the public-comment period and no motion or vote on the surveillance measures was recorded in the transcript.
