Council reviews updated city policies for security cameras and AI; facial‑recognition use requires council approval

City staff briefed the council on an updated package of IT administrative policies that tighten oversight for city video surveillance and set guardrails for generative AI use.

IT Director Mike Cook said the camera policy now requires approval from the IT director (technical), the police chief (security) and the city manager (policy/finance) before adding new sites, and the city will publish an exhibit showing camera presence so the public is aware of deployments. The draft policy also specifies who may access recordings and requires formal documentation and written justification for any exceptions.

On AI, Cook proposed an internal selection and procurement process for a vetted generative AI tool for general city staff use and proposed restricting use of external general‑purpose AI platforms against nonpublic city data. He described an existing information classification policy that separates public data from sensitive categories (e.g., HIPAA, criminal records, personal employee data) and said the AI APP will reference those tiers to permit or prohibit external AI processing.

Council members pressed staff to codify how exceptions would be communicated to council and to require a short written justification for any exception. The policy text as presented already states facial recognition “shall not be enabled unless approved by the city council as a feature of the surveillance system,” with narrow exceptions for exigent law‑enforcement operations that would be reported to the council.

City staff requested the council “receive and file” the policies and said finalized APP text will be posted for review and updated periodically as technology evolves.

What’s next: Staff will finalize wording, add a mechanism for exception reporting to council, post executed APPs, and incorporate camera site maintenance or replacement work into upcoming budget and site review activity.