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Glenn Heights council tables license-plate-reader approval to Aug. 4 amid privacy and transparency concerns
Summary
Council members asked for more vendor detail and public engagement before committing to automated license-plate readers; the council voted to table the item to August 4 to allow potential 60-day demos, a town hall, and vendor responses on data retention and auditing.
The Glenn Heights City Council on July 7 voted to table action on implementing automated license-plate-reader (LPR) software until the August 4 meeting after extended questioning of vendors, the police chief, and public commenters about privacy, data retention and transparency.
Chief Glenn Horn outlined the police department’s operational rationale for LPRs and said he was open to community engagement. A vendor representative from Flock told council the vendor’s per-camera price would hold for the contract term and that the system includes remote alerts and vendor maintenance. "You set your price of $3,000 per LPR camera... that price would stay the same throughout the trajectory of the contract," the vendor said during questioning.
Public commenter Dorothy Golden asked pointedly, "What information is collected? How long is that information stored?" and asked the council to investigate privacy impacts before approving the technology. Councilmembers raised similar concerns about data-retention policies, system security, and whether Axon (a competing vendor) should be given equal opportunity to present. Several councilmembers asked for a town hall and a 60-day demonstration period before selecting a vendor.
Council ultimately voted to table the item to August 4, 2026 to allow vendors to return with written clarifications about data retention, audit tools and demo options; the motion to table passed by voice vote. The police chief and vendors were asked to return with a clear proposed MOU (memorandum of understanding) addressing governance, transparency and security.
