The Mount Vernon City Council will decide Monday whether to end the city's use of Flock cameras and whether to hire more public works employees. Knox Pages reported that both measures are up for a third reading.
What is the council voting on?
- Ending the city's Flock cameras. If it passes, the cameras would be canceled or not renewed under the master agreement with Flock Safety.
- Hiring three public works workers to a dedicated stormwater crew, funded by the stormwater utility.
The master agreement covers five automated license plate reader cameras and expires Oct. 25. The city added three more later with a separate grant.
Which cameras would stop?
Safety-Service Director Tanner Salyers said at the council's Sept. 28 meeting that all eight city cameras would be canceled or not renewed. He does not think the city would face a penalty for ending the three extra cameras before their expiration date, but the city would have to return the grant money.
The city has 16 plate reader cameras inside its limits. The other eight belong to private and public entities, and the legislation does not affect them. "That is their equipment, their decision," Salyers said. "This legislation should not be read as a statement about their policy."
The legislation would bar new plate reader permits in city right-of-way. It does not pull existing permits and would not regulate cameras on private property.
What happens to the data?
Data collection on city cameras would stop when the contract ends. Salyers declined to say how long Flock keeps images from the final day. "I do not want to state one thing publicly and then later learn the vendor's actual retention is different," he said. The city will get that information and report back.
Flock Safety owns the cameras, and Salyers expects them to come down soon after the contract ends. Knox Pages does not say who would remove them or whether the city would be asked to bag them. Councilman Dale Miller asked who pays if a camera is vandalized, and Salyers said the city could be on the hook. That risk could lead the city to bag or remove the cameras quickly after Oct. 25, he said.
What is the stormwater crew proposal?
City officials want three workers added to the public works street division in 2027: one crew leader and two technicians. Stormwater utility funds would pay the $358,569 cost, and the $6 fee per equivalent residential unit would stay the same.
Public Works Director Tom Hinkle said stormwater work takes time from streets. Salyers said about 30% of streets division labor in August went to stormwater-related work. Hinkle said the city currently borrows workers from street jobs for stormwater work, and the new hires would let them return to right-of-way maintenance.
What changes for drivers?
If the council passes the measure Monday, the eight city cameras end when the contract does, and the city stops collecting data from them. Cameras owned by other entities stay where they are, and the city's vote does not change them.
Knox Pages does not say how state or federal rules would affect the city's choice. Salyers said a statewide rule could limit the city's options if the Ohio General Assembly acts on the several competing bills in Columbus. Senators have also asked the Department of Justice how much federal grant money paid for the cameras, and they want answers by late October.
The next step is the Monday vote. The master agreement expires Oct. 25. For background on the technology, read how plate readers work, and to see where cameras are, check the camera map.