Resident presses Palm Bay for public records on Flock license-plate readers and city spending

Kristen Lanzano, a Northwest Palm Bay resident, used public comment at the Jan. 7 City Council meeting to press for transparency about the city’s Flock automatic license-plate reader program.

"Based on the records I have received, the city of Palm Bay has paid at least $240,091.62," Lanzano said, and asked council to place a public discussion of the program on the agenda and to provide written answers about contract length, costs, data collection, retention, access and audits.

Mayor Rob Medina said he had "no appetite" to remove the program and cited crime-reduction benefits and a case in which the system helped identify a homicide suspect. Councilman Johnson and City Manager Morton asked staff to produce whatever releasable records exist; Morton asked Deputy Chief Spears to prepare a synopsis of his recollection of conversations to forward to counsel so the record could be completed. Councilmembers also questioned whether some records might be non-disclosable and agreed to follow up.

Lanzano urged public discussion before any auto-renewal or program expansion and said she has been seeking transparency for nearly a year. City staff committed to compiling and forwarding records and summaries where permitted by law.

Next steps: staff to consolidate responsive public-records responses and a deputy-chief recollection summary for counsel review; council did not set a specific hearing date for a public discussion.