Asheville.com reported that Asheville City Council voted 5-2 on August 25 to end the city's contract with Flock Safety. The same vote halts city employees' use of the company's technology and calls for the camera hardware to be removed.
What did the council approve?
The resolution calls for immediate termination of the contract. While that happens, city employees must suspend access to the Flock system. They cannot search or share information collected through it. The restrictions apply across city operations and do not wait for the cameras to come down.
- The city manager is directed to terminate the agreement.
- The resolution asks for removal of all equipment tied to the contract.
- Asheville.com says the access suspension and equipment removal together end both the city's use of the system and its camera presence.
The council also ordered a review of how Asheville might govern surveillance technology in the future. Policy recommendations will come after that review. They were not part of the August 25 vote.
What happens to the data already collected?
The resolution says existing data must be handled under applicable legal and records-retention requirements. Employees cannot access, search or share it through the Flock system during the termination, Asheville.com reports.
Did the vote pass easily?
Five of the seven council members voted yes. The camera vote was taken as a separate new-business item. The same meeting also covered Helene recovery work, housing-related development rules and public-safety funding.
What changes for drivers?
In Asheville, the city's Flock cameras are set to come down, and city employees can no longer use the system. Asheville.com does not say whether the hardware has been removed yet.
The vote covers only the city's contract. Cameras run by a neighboring city, the county, the state, a business or a homeowners association are not part of it, so those stay where they are. Use the camera map to check which cameras are installed near you.
What is still unknown?
- Asheville.com does not say how many cameras the city had.
- It does not say when the hardware will be removed.
- It does not say when the surveillance policy review will be finished.
The city's account of the vote and the steps that follow are in the City of Asheville's August 25 meeting summary. The policy review is the next step, and Asheville.com gives no date for it.