Resident and town administrator press for guardrails on license‑plate camera program

Town Administrator Bennett told the Lincoln Town Council on Aug. 18 that the town should push for state‑level guardrails on vendor‑hosted license‑plate camera systems, arguing that municipalities currently lack sufficient control over who can access camera networks and how collected data is used. Bennett said he has been in touch with state legislators and other municipal leaders to make the issue a legislative priority.

Bennett warned of the difficulty smaller towns face in holding large companies accountable and urged model policies to standardize internal controls for police access to vendor networks. "We all need to get on board on this and make sure that those guardrails are in place," Bennett said. Resident Patrick Baranski, speaking during public comment, urged the council to end participation with companies such as Flock entirely: "I think that it needs to be terminated completely and that we should not participate, with companies like clock at all," he said, adding that legislation alone may not be sufficient to control vendor practices.

Councilors voiced differing emphases: one councilor praised the technology’s role in solving crimes but acknowledged residents’ privacy concerns. The council agreed to follow up on resident contacts and to continue discussions with state and municipal partners.