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Stoughton council directs staff to end Flock license-plate camera contract, orders removal within 48 hours
Summary
After sustained public protest, the Stoughton City Council voted to direct staff to terminate the city's contract with Flock and require cameras to be removed or disabled within 48 hours if the vendor does not act. The council accepted an amendment to specify the timeline and authorized staff to negotiate a buyout consistent with the contract.
The Stoughton City Council voted to terminate the city's contract with Flock, the vendor that operates the automated license-plate reader (ALPR) cameras, and directed staff to take steps to remove or render the cameras inoperable within 48 hours if Flock does not remove them voluntarily. The resolution (R103-2026) passed after public comment calling for removal and a council amendment that replaced the word "immediately" with a 48-hour timetable for removal or bagging.
Council members debated legal and fiscal risks of ending the contract early and asked staff and the police chief about logistics. Chief Hill told the council that Flock had said the city would need to pay the remainder of the contract to terminate — the city has already paid $12,500 and the vendor said the remaining $12,500 would be required to get out of the agreement. "To get out of the contract, we just paid the contract in full," Chief Hill said, recounting the vendor's statement, and added he could ask for that language in writing. He also said Flock told him they could remove cameras as soon as the next day if directed.
Council members who had supported a broader "people's resolution" said that the mayor's language should be a practical first step and that drafting more comprehensive purchasing or ordinance-based safeguards for future surveillance contracts should proceed in committee. The amendment requiring removal or neutralizing of cameras within 48 hours won unanimous voice approval and was folded into the final motion to direct staff to negotiate termination consistent with contractual requirements and to take whatever operational steps are necessary to prevent further data collection if Flock failed to act.
Speakers from the public had urged a swift end to the city's relationship with Flock during a large public-comment period before the item: "The department never independently vetted this vendor," Suzanne Larson told the council, arguing the contract lacked adequate public oversight. Council members asked the city attorney to prepare any necessary documentation and to work with the chief on a plan that minimizes liability if the city must disable or cover leased equipment.
The measure as amended carried on a voice vote; council members who spoke about process indicated they will bring additional ordinance or policy language to committee (CACP and Public Safety) to tighten contracting and public-engagement requirements around future surveillance or vendor agreements.
