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In July Huntington city council approved spending $2 million over the next five years to implement a citywide Flock Security system.
Opposition to the city council’s decision was almost immediate, and this week it became clear that ignoring that opposition could be costly to the city.
Flock Group sells and manages automated license plate recognition (ALPR), video surveillance, and gunfire locator systems, as well as supporting software to integrate the data gathered by these technologies.
Tens of thousands of the cameras have been installed around the U.S., including in communities like Morgantown, Fairmont and Parkersburg. But an increasing number of municipalities are canceling their contracts with the company, citing privacy and misuse concerns.
Within days of the July meeting, a coalition led by the American Civil Liberties Union of West Virginia sued the city. The lawsuit alleges that Huntington City Council neglected several key procedural matters in the process of awarding the contract.
By August, members of the Huntington branch of the statewide Citizen Action Group started collecting signatures for a ballot initiative banning third-party mass surveillance technology in the city. Kyle Vass reported at Huntington city council’s regular meeting Monday evening the group has already collected close to 1,000 signatures.
“We plan on handing you all 4,000 signatures so that you all can see. You know, if you have to throw some out, the city clerk will look at it and say, ‘Okay, not all of them are valid,’ I’m sure, but this is our plan,” Vass said. “And if people want to get involved, reach out to us on social media. We are GTFO Huntington. We’re on Facebook. We’re on Instagram, and you all can get in touch with us there.”
Council member Tia Rumbaugh warned if the city council rejected an ordinance created through a successful ballot measure, it could be costly for Huntington.
“If we fail to adopt the ordinance language that they are moving forward with this ballot initiative, it will automatically trigger a special election, which will cost us somewhere between $75,000 to $125,000,” she said. “All told, as fiscal stewards of the city, which is our number one job as city council members, we have the potential to lose $525,000 this fiscal year because we’re not listening to the will of the people.”
Officials including council chair Mike Shockley acknowledged Monday the city has not finalized its contract with or made payment to Flock.