WSET reported that the Lynchburg City Council voted last week to end its contract with Flock Safety. The open question is when the cameras come down, and the council was set to keep debating that at its meeting Tuesday night.
When do Lynchburg's Flock cameras come down?
A resolution from Councilor Chris Faraldi ends the city's Flock contract and license agreement. WSET says the cameras stay offline in the meantime, and all Flock technology is removed when the agreement expires in April.
Councilor Martin Misjuns has two resolutions for Tuesday's meeting. The second would end the contract by next month. Misjuns said after the special meeting that his resolution would see the cameras removed by October.
Faraldi said at last week's meeting that he believes Misjuns's resolutions would cost taxpayers $35,000 to remove the cameras by October.
Why does Misjuns say the cameras can come down fast?
Misjuns says the license agreement gives the city 30 days to give notice. On the 31st day, he said, "the equipment is no longer authorized in the city right away." He said the council voted on that agreement on Nov. 28, 2023, and that he voted against it.
WSET reports that Misjuns also said he could not get a clear picture from staff on what the city was doing under the agreement.
What does Misjuns's privacy resolution do?
Misjuns's first resolution would create a privacy-protection policy for the Lynchburg Police Department. It would require a warrant for certain searches of old license plate recognition data.
The same resolution would generally prohibit the department from using certain radio frequency vehicle tracking technology. WSET does not name that technology.
What changes for drivers in Lynchburg?
Under Faraldi's resolution, the cameras stay offline until the April expiration. Under Misjuns's second resolution, they would be removed by October. WSET does not say how many cameras Lynchburg has. You can check what is mapped on the camera map.
WSET does not say whether any Flock cameras outside the city's own system are affected by the vote.
What happens next?
The council will discuss both of Misjuns's resolutions in the general business section of Tuesday night's meeting.