The Timeline
How the cameras arrived, meeting by meeting.
Special council meeting on license plate readers
The City Council held a special meeting at 7:00 PM in the City Hall Multi-Purpose Room (Building Three) with a single business item, listed as "Discussion Only": a presentation on automated license plate readers (ALPRs) by the Cedar Park Police Department, followed by public comments.
Because the item was discussion only, the council took no action on the city's Flock Safety contract at this meeting.
30-day public comment period
A 30-day public comment period on the city's use of license plate readers was announced at this meeting. It officially begins Wednesday, October 21, through a short comment form on the city website. Comments go directly to city staff and will all be reviewed at the end of the 30 days, before the council votes.
How to comment →Sources: Meeting agenda (PDF) · City Council agendas · Community Impact
Council renews Flock for five years, $300,000
With the original two-year agreement expiring, item F.4 asked the council to approve Flock for five more years at a fixed $60,000 a year, up to $300,000 in total, running through fiscal year 2029. The item was pulled from the consent agenda. According to the minutes, the only discussion was Police Chief Harmon confirming the cost. It passed 6–0, with one councilmember absent.
The staff memo credits the cameras with violent-suspect arrests, locating missing persons and recovering stolen vehicles, and describes the contract as a way to lock in the price. Like the original, it was approved as a sole-source purchase without competitive bidding.
Sources: Agenda (PDF) · Minutes (PDF) · Packet with staff memo, pp. 48–49 (PDF)
Council approves Flock on the consent agenda
Flock first came to Cedar Park as item F.2 on the consent agenda, the list of routine items the council approves together in a single vote without discussion: "A Resolution Authorizing An Agreement With Flock Group, Inc. For The Software And Hardware Solution For Automatic License Plate Recognition And Vehicle Fingerprint Technology In The Total Amount Not To Exceed $107,000." The consent agenda passed 5–0, with two councilmembers absent. There was no presentation, discussion or public hearing on the cameras.
The staff memo says Flock was picked as a sole-source provider, so the contract was not competitively bid. Flock owns the cameras and installs them on city property. Data would be deleted after 30 days, and the memo cites "greater information sharing" with neighboring cities that also use Flock. The money, $57,000 for the first year and $50,000 for a renewal year, came from the Police Department budget.
Sources: Agenda (PDF) · Minutes (PDF) · Packet with staff memo, pp. 36–37 (PDF)