Public commenters urge review of town litigation and call for strict controls on surveillance technology

Several members of the public used the citizens-comment period to press councilors on two distinct issues: the town's litigation costs related to a wage-dispute settlement and provisions for the use of surveillance technology.

One speaker, addressed in the meeting as Mr. Ryan, criticized the town's legal handling and questioned whether the town had received unbiased legal advice; he urged ‘‘an independent investigation’’ and told the council he would ‘‘terminate Frost Brown and Todd’’ (the law firm he named) if he had the authority. Ryan argued the dispute was a payment issue not a time-reporting issue and asked whether the town would share in the Fire Territory's legal expenses. The council voted later in the meeting to authorize the settlement counsel presented.

Another commenter, Phil Arnold, addressed the council on the topic of Flock-style surveillance systems and urged strict controls, transparency and third-party audits. Arnold said the technology can ‘‘misread’’ license-plate readers and lead to wrongful pursuits and called for access restrictions, documented criteria for use, alerts when data is accessed and independent complaints investigations to guard against abuse.