Some current, former Columbia City Council members unhappy with swift vote on Flock contract

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Multiple Columbia City Council members expressed surprise at a vote on the city's Flock license-plate camera contracts that came at the end of a four-hour public hearing Monday night.

Following a nearly four-hour special hearing at City Hall on Monday night, with more than 50 residents stepping up to speak, Ward 2 Councilwoman Vera Elwood moved to vote on a measure to cancel automatic renewal of the contract for the automated license plate readers.

The motion passed 5-2, with Ward 3 Councilwoman Jacque Sample and Ward 6 Councilwoman Betsy Peters making up the “no” votes.

Sample took to Facebook after the meeting, claiming the call for a vote took her by surprise.

“When residents have been told that no action is anticipated, but a final decision is made that same evening, I believe that raises a serious concern about transparency, regardless of whether the action is legally permissible," Sample wrote.

She went on to write that while she did not approve of the motion, prompting her "no" vote, the action was allowed.

“Although the City Charter allows Council to take action in this manner, I expressed my concern during the meeting that moving forward with a vote tonight [Monday night] was inconsistent with the expectations that had been communicated to the public,” Sample wrote.

City spokesman Christopher Ave clarified to ABC 17 News on Tuesday morning that the council did not decide to stop using Flock cameras before the contract expires.

"Therefore, they will continue to be in operation until the contract ends," Ave wrote in a text message. "In the meantime, the Council is free to consider agreeing to a new contract with Flock or a new contract with another contractor. The Council also may decide not to take any further action, meaning that the cameras will end operations after the contracts expire."

Mayor Barbara Buffaloe wants to look at other safety camera options across the city, she wrote in a Facebook post.

Some former Columbia City Council members are joining the conversation about whether the vote taken at Monday's meeting was appropriate.

“I think that when there is an opportunity to right a wrong, and make steps toward better, more precise policy, we should take it," former Ward 2 council member Andrea Waner wrote in a text message to ABC 17 News. "And, in this instance, it was well within Council’s legal authority to make a vote not to renew a contract. Now, they have the opportunity to explore a different company with more thorough data and privacy protections.”

Former Ward 5 council member Don Waterman said he was disappointed with the vote.

"While legal, I feel it was definitely inappropriate if not underhanded. The stated purpose of the meeting was to gather public input. Generally separate public hearings do not have a vote. I believe if it had been advertised that a vote was possible or planned there would have been a larger contingent of Flock supporters," Waterman wrote in a text message.

Former Ward 2 council member Lisa Meyer believed the council should have held off on voting until next steps were discussed.

"Ending the contracts this way, after a hearing that was described as input-only and without giving the public or the department a structured path forward, feels premature and leaves a gap in public-safety tools," Meyer wrote in a text message. "I hope the council uses the time until expiration to carefully evaluate options that preserve investigative capacity with strong local control and privacy protections, rather than creating an unnecessary hole for CPD, Parks, and Utilities."

Sample hoped a decision could be made more deliberately, with more stakeholders having input.

"While CPD was present for the meeting and was part of the discussion, Utilities and the Parks Department, who also have active Flock contracts, were not. Their contracts were also canceled at the end of their term," Sample wrote on Facebook.

"Some residents chose not to attend, others left before the meeting concluded, and still others believed they would have additional opportunities to participate before a final decision was made," Sample wrote in Monday night's Facebook post. "I am meeting tomorrow [Tuesday], as previously scheduled, with the council-appointed Youth Advisory Council (YAC) to get their perspectives on Flock. Their voices matter, too. The discussion will still happen, but it will look different."