Council votes 5-0 to terminate planned Flock camera trial after resident privacy concerns

Washington Terrace Mayor Mark C. Allen and the council voted unanimously to terminate the city's planned trial approval for three Flock surveillance cameras after a wave of resident concern about privacy and private-company access to vehicle-tracking data. Mayor Allen told the meeting that he had "directed staff to pause and discontinue the proposed Flock camera trial," and urged staff to bring back details as needed.

Multiple residents pressed the council for permanent removal rather than a pause. Lizzie Hernandez said the action "should be permanent and not just a pause," adding she would like the cameras to be taken down permanently. Resident speakers argued that private companies should not have ongoing access to vehicle location data and raised constitutional concerns. Representative Jill Koford, attending the meeting, urged constituents to contact state legislators and described an ongoing legislative working group on data privacy.

City Manager Tom Hanson clarified that Weber County currently operates three Flock cameras within the city and that no city-installed infrastructure or spending had occurred for the proposed trial. Hanson said Flock has been notified and that the Sheriff is planning a Sept. 24 meeting with Flock to discuss ongoing use and monitoring. The council approved the motion to terminate the three-camera trial 5-0.