Voters in Kyle, Texas, could be asked next year whether the city should continue using Flock surveillance cameras, after councillors rejected a proposal to cancel two contracts with the company.
The Kyle City Council voted 6-1 on 5 September against Councilwoman Claudia Zapata’s motion to withdraw funding for the agreements, which cover 47 cameras and two drones. The contracts are currently costing the city about $381,000 a year, according to local reporting. ([aol.com](https://www.aol.com/articles/kyle-voters-could-flock-cameras-152826000.html))
Instead, councillors voted unanimously to ask city staff to prepare options for a non-binding referendum on the May 2027 ballot. The result would allow residents to express their view, but would not legally require the council to remove the equipment.
Privacy concerns over Flock cameras
Zapata has argued that Kyle should not continue paying for technology which records vehicle movements and allows data to be searched by law enforcement agencies beyond the city.
She told the council that internal logs showed more than 3,000 agencies in 40 states had accessed Kyle’s system between 1 January and 19 March. Of approximately 1.5 million searches during that period, she said, only 2,888 were carried out by Kyle Police Department officers.
Zapata also said the city had applied for state grant funding but had not received money since it began seeking support in 2023, leaving taxpayers to fund the contracts. She has maintained that at least two of the agreements could be ended through the budget process without cancellation fees.
The council’s decision came amid a wider backlash against Flock Safety in Central Texas, with several communities reviewing or ending their arrangements with the company. Texas Governor Greg Abbott has also directed state agencies to stop funding automatic number plate reader programmes, a move that has intensified scrutiny of the technology.
Supporters of the system say the cameras provide investigators with an important tool for locating vehicles linked to crimes. Kyle Police Chief Jeff Barnett cited an incident involving a five-month-old child who was taken in a vehicle, saying number plate readers played a significant role in helping officers find it quickly.
Barnett said Kyle’s system was restricted to law enforcement use and that safeguards were in place to prevent improper searches. He also told councillors that the department had received no formal complaints alleging misuse of Flock in the city.
The city’s fiscal year 2027 budget received first-reading approval with funding for the existing contracts still included. Zapata is expected to raise the issue again at the council’s next meeting on Tuesday 15 September, before the budget is potentially finalised.
For now, the cameras will remain in operation. The proposed May 2027 referendum could nevertheless give Kyle residents their first direct opportunity to weigh in on whether the surveillance network should continue.
