Flint, Mi –
On Wednesday, March 11 the Genesee County Board of Commissioners met and presided over a packed room.
Commissioners discussed the allocation of funds, tourism, specific millages, what verbiage constitutes as a renewal, the nuances of “animal control” vs “animal care”, and a variety of other topics regarding the day-to-day needs of the county. But one topic on the evening’s agenda stood out amongst the rest. Resolutions RES-2025-2778, and RES-2025-2833, both involving the renewal and expansion of Genesee County’s Flock contracts.
RES-2025-2778: Authorization to accept (and expend) a grant from Region 3 Homeland Security Planning Board for the renewal of services (Coverage term 7/3/2026-7/2/2027) for 10 Flock Cameras. The cost of the annual renewal shall not exceed $30,000.00 as per quote provided Q-174344.
RES-2025-2833: Requesting the approval to enter a “Confirming PO” to the vendor FLOCK to renew the services to 20x Safety Falcon Cameras assigned to the GAIN division; not to exceed the invoiced amount of $60,000.00.
District 4 Commissioner Dr. Beverly Brown opened the evening at 5:30 with the Community and Economic Development Committee, by opening the floor to public comment. She informed the audience that although the committee would be addressing several issues, residents wishing to speak about the FLOCK cameras could do so early if they were unable to stay for the entire meeting.
One resident after another lined up along the wall for an opportunity to speak.
Some residents did speak on their specific needs from the presiding committee such as tourism, elderly care, and the art council. But as the comments continued it was clear that FLOCK was what a large segment of the audience was there to discuss.
When a resident would speak on FLOCK many seated held up signs in the crowd with sayings like, “FLOCK = BIG BROTHER”, or “FLOCK IS WATCHING YOU”. Local organizations like People Powered Flint, and Flint Alliance for Immigrant Rights rallied residents to come to this meeting and make their voices heard. They wanted to make sure the message they were sending was as clear as possible.
One resident from Grand Blanc warned commissioners about the long-term implications of the contracts.
“I ask the commissioners to not consider the cost of what it would take to pull out of the contract today, but The cost of pulling out of the contract when it’s too damn late”
After the initial volley of public comment was over, commissioners continued working through the evening’s agenda. If you would like to see everything discussed, you can watch the entire evening here on the Genesee County YouTube channel.
As the evening continued one resident commented on every subsequent committee’s public comment, citing facts about the use and abuse of ALPR systems. After another commissions “lively” discussion on what legal language constitutes as a “renewal” came to a close, we were nearing the time to open discussion in the Governmental Operations Committee.
Commissioner Delrico Loyd spoke into the microphone and addressed audience, “I’d like to call the Governmental Operations Committee to order at 7:14 pm.” After roll call Commissioner Loyd opened public comment. 22 Genesee County Residents lined the western wall for their turn to share their thoughts.
One resident after another shared their thoughts. Of the 22 residents who spoke, two supported renewing the Flock contracts, one resident commented on millage allocations, and 19 voiced opposition to renewing or expanding the camera system.
Several residents who spoke against the cameras raised concerns about privacy, data retention, and the potential for misuse of this data. Many spoke to the fact that companies like ring are divesting from their partnerships with FLOCK and how other counties in the state have had success removing the cameras with legislation and ending contracts. Atlas resident Eric Streeter was one of the residents to speak,
“I am an electronics and computer engineer by trade.”
“I have the expertise to tell you, these cameras are not the product, the people of this county are the product. We are selling out our own citizens every time we sign one of these contracts. This company is not selling you a onetime license plate reading product, this thing is a platform”
“This is not about selling you cameras, this is about getting you to buy in and sell your peoples data to them.”
After public comment wrapped, the committee moved into deliberations. Commissioner Loyd invited Captain Murphy of the Genesee County Sheriff’s Department to the front of the room to share the department’s perspective.
He thanked the Committee for taking the matter seriously and looked back to the crowd and thanked everyone for sharing their thoughts. He went on to discuss the many benefits that the department has seen. Locating missing elderly, locating stolen vehicles, human trafficking victims, were among the benefits he listed. He discussed the search capabilities of the system and the lack of ability to search by human demographic.
Captain Murphy added,
“we control who has access to the cameras.”
“Right NOW, we only share our information with local and state Police. We do not share with anybody out of state”
Following Captain Murphy’s remarks, commissioners began their discussion.
One of the early comments that stood out to me was from Commissioner Brown,
“I am concerned about creating and fostering systems that violate civil rights”.
Early in deliberations, Commissioner Dale Weighill proposed an amendment that would require federal agents to obtain a search warrant before accessing data from the system. Commissioners Gary Goetzinger and Shaun Shumaker opposed the proposal. Shumaker raised concerns about legal authority over federal agencies, while Goetzinger questioned the practicality of requiring a warrant.
“I don’t know what the point of a warrant would be. If you’re going to give them the tools, why tie their hands as well?”
Weighill retorted back,
“A warrant is to prevent injustices from happening; it’s been that way for centuries.”
As the debate continued, Commissioner Shumaker addressed the audience directly while discussing privacy concerns.
“You’ve got cellphones in your pockets, and there are security cameras in the hall. Guess what, they’ve got facial recognition. Smile!”
“Does that make it right?!”
Someone shouted from the crowd.
Commissioner Loyd immediately quieted the crowd and asked whoever made the outburst to leave. Eric Streeter got up and left the room. Commissioner Loyd, politely thanked Streeter for speaking earlier and Streeter left without incident.
I reached out to Eric Streeter after the event for comment.
“My Partner and I came out in support of both Flint Alliance for Immigrant Rights, and People Powered Flint.
I felt it was important to speak up as someone with the education and professional background to point out the dangerous trajectory this AI enabled surveilance technoloGY puts us on.”
As discussion continued, the focus shifted from expanding the camera system to the structure of the second resolution itself. Commissioners noted that the contract included an automatic renewal clause, meaning the county had already agreed to the new term by default due to the language in the agreement. By the time the issue reached the committee, the county was already within the new contract period and obligated to pay.
Commissioner Shumaker voiced frustration with how the resolution was proposed to the board in the first place.
“What good is it? It should not be brought to us after the purchase is made. and we made the purchase already. It makes us look like fools.”
The Commission eventually put the resolutions to vote.
With Commissioner Brown being the only NAY vote, the initial approval passes. Commissioner Weighill did say he plans on introducing his warrant amendment to both resolutions when the full board meets next on Wednesday, March 18.
The amendment would require federal agencies to obtain a warrant before gaining access to camera data, while giving commissioners notice within 24 hrs. In addition, the amendment would also allow the Genesee County Sheriff to grant access at his discretion in emergency situations.
