Bulverde's Flock plate-reader cameras stay on after cancellation motion fails

Police, company and council views

The police chief called the system “a great tool in the toolbox” (1:12:45). The chief said camera events are kept for seven days and that the city was not then sharing its information with anyone. Those are the chief's descriptions of the system's operation, not an independent audit of retention or access. The chief put the program's total at roughly $33,654 and said approximately $26,923 was grant-funded; a staff speaker said the governor had paused that grant funding.

Ian Leslie, identified in the recording as Flock's public affairs manager, said cities could opt out of sharing anonymized data (1:52:40). An unidentified council member challenged that account, saying the company's terms did not give the city that right. Leslie also said the tools need oversight and proper guardrails. The competing statements did not resolve the contract's precise data-sharing terms in the public vote.

Hawkins said he was “really torn about taking it out of their toolbox” (1:30:25). Another council member, not identified by name in the reviewed recording, argued in a prepared statement that the privacy threat outweighed prospective law-enforcement benefits. The chief urged council to weigh the whole community's interests, while an unidentified council member said they had received more emails than the number of speakers at the hearing.

Citizen comments

Four people spoke on the Flock question and raised privacy concerns. Cindy Butler asked, “do they violate everybody's right to privacy” (1:15:40). Henry Richard Priest Meyer, whose name is rendered as heard in the recording, asked council to “end the current use and any future use” (1:19:05). Stefan Schuster said he opposed renewing the contract (1:22:30). A fourth speaker declined to give a name and also urged an end to the contract. Their comments describe the speakers' views, not a survey of Bulverde residents.

The next public council action or an official contract record will establish whether the city changes course before that term ends. Readers can inspect the city's Nov. 9 meeting recording for the hearing and vote, and the posted agenda for the question council had scheduled.