Bob Yancy said:

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MidRatsAg said:

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Bob, this may not be the correct thread, but can you briefly elaborate on some of the immediate impact the budget constraints are likely to have?

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The budget is silent on Terafab, SpaceX, semiconductors and any impacts from growth it may have and resources it may require.

It more than doubles capital spending and completely eliminates any new debt capacity through fiscal year 2034.

It requires a tax increase to meet budget on O&M this year, and requires approximately 12 cents of increase over the next handful of years to satisfy debt obligations on the capital side. With retiring debt as we go, that obligation falls to between 4 cents and 5, but that still constitutes an approximate 10% required increase in property taxes for this future council to contend with.

This budget maxes out the credit card with no contemplation of the largest economic development project in our region's history.

It has my primary attention at this time.

Respectfully

Yancy '95

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I don't see how you could include anything related to Terafab when it was announced so late in the budget cycle and planning. There were rumors, but it wasn't even officially announced and finalized until Aug 6. You and council already had been meeting for months about the current FY2027 budget.

Wouldn't adding items geared and directed towards Terafab cause you to backtrack and start over? And possibly not have a budget agreed upon in time for FY2027? Surely there are state laws that have to be adhered to, to ensure you meet budget deadlines, no?

Interesting case. A Clermont County grand jury declined to indict Morelock on felony charges.

Felony charges dismissed against Clermont County man for destruction of Flock camera

Aggie_Fire said:

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Bob Yancy said:

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MidRatsAg said:

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Bob, this may not be the correct thread, but can you briefly elaborate on some of the immediate impact the budget constraints are likely to have?

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The budget is silent on Terafab, SpaceX, semiconductors and any impacts from growth it may have and resources it may require.

It more than doubles capital spending and completely eliminates any new debt capacity through fiscal year 2034.

It requires a tax increase to meet budget on O&M this year, and requires approximately 12 cents of increase over the next handful of years to satisfy debt obligations on the capital side. With retiring debt as we go, that obligation falls to between 4 cents and 5, but that still constitutes an approximate 10% required increase in property taxes for this future council to contend with.

This budget maxes out the credit card with no contemplation of the largest economic development project in our region's history.

It has my primary attention at this time.

Respectfully

Yancy '95

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I don't see how you could include anything related to Terafab when it was announced so late in the budget cycle and planning. There were rumors, but it wasn't even officially announced and finalized until Aug 6. You and council already had been meeting for months about the current FY2027 budget.

Wouldn't adding items geared and directed towards Terafab cause you to backtrack and start over? And possibly not have a budget agreed upon in time for FY2027? Surely there are state laws that have to be adhered to, to ensure you meet budget deadlines, no?

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Just like families over the kitchen table trying to make ends meet, businesses making adjustments on the fly to meet payroll, or any other organization or individual who must be flexible and adjust to evolving circumstances- so must government. Especially government- because it is spending other people's money. If we fail to meet the challenge, shrugging our shoulders and saying "gee, we had already been working on the budget when we learned," that will ring hollow and insufficient, because it would be.

There's been plenty of time. Known going back to April.

Respectfully & transparently

Yancy '95

Another data point regarding misuse of Flock cameras.

https://www.kbtx.com/2026/08/20/former-officer-jailed-after-allegedly-doing-more-than-350-flock-searches-same-license/?fbclid=IwY2xjawT0KZBwZG9mBGV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkDzQwOTk2MjYyMzA4NTYwOQABHjJGD-vGId4vIb__ighHplKUaMF-4DvRM7wjJ84IKlafpEBszoLfhoiYmacI_aem_-b-w5CAwpziwGsR8D7MOqg

Journalists at Flock convention?

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=3114396745437403

This isn't your grandpa's FLOCK

I worry about opposition being based solely on abuse of the technology. The powers that be can mollify those concerns. At least for me, I'm less concerned about abuse by individuals and more concerned about the ever encroaching surveillance state. I think the abuse angle is just a distraction.

Another day.
Another story of Flock abuse by an LEO.

I would hope our local departments are above this sort of thing.

https://www.kbtx.com/2026/08/21/temple-police-department-officer-resigns-after-unauthorized-use-flock-camera-discovered/?fbclid=IwY2xjawT1oLFwZG9mBGV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkDzQwOTk2MjYyMzA4NTYwOQABHmqP1GXUabLddWU7m4vX2cOBZ9FmDZk8AKH7aWcRDWVN5WaLn_gnGLcY-O2w_aem_orUAgMSFCiAK7mC5sMQgHw

From Grok on how many police and officials have been fired and suspended for misuse:
There is no single definitive public total, but recent reporting and trackers indicate dozens of police officers and officials (roughly 60 or more in some catalogs) have been fired, forced to resign, or suspended for misusing Flock Safety automated license plate reader (ALPR) cameras, with the number still rising as of mid-to-late August 2026.

A Washington Post investigation (published around August 19, 2026) found that at least 69 police officials had been accused, charged with, or convicted of misusing Flock's system or other license-plate readers for unauthorized purposes (often personal tracking of partners, exes, or acquaintances). In at least 15 of those cases, outsiders (victims, activists, or journalists) first identified the potential misuse rather than the departments themselves.

An independent catalog of Flock/ALPR incidents (as of about August 21, 2026) listed around 72 abuse cases and roughly 6061 people fired or resigned (with overlap in those also charged; mostly Flock-related, with limited inclusion of other ALPR systems). Separate tallies from groups like the Institute for Justice have documented dozens of romantic-stalking or personal-use cases involving ALPRs (many specifically Flock), with nearly all resulting in job loss via firing or resignation, plus criminal charges in many instances.

Key context and examples
Misuse typically involves unauthorized personal searches of license plates (sometimes hundreds or thousands of times), often of romantic partners/exes, family, or acquaintances, sometimes with falsified justifications in the system. Departments have increasingly used Flock's audit tools (or external tips/media reporting) to detect this, leading to discipline. Outcomes vary by agency: some officers are immediately terminated, others suspended pending investigation (with later firing/resignation recommended), and some face criminal charges (e.g., misconduct in public office, misuse of license plate data).

Recent documented examples (not exhaustive) include:
Multiple firings in South Carolina (e.g., 2 in Greer PD; 2 at Greenville County Sheriff's Office; 1 in Mauldin PD for ~166 searches of a former partner; 1 Colleton County lieutenant for >2,700 unauthorized searches).
5 Albany, GA, officers fired (and charged) after an audit.
6 Savannah, GA, employees (4 officers + 2 civilians) terminated.
Suspensions such as 8 DeKalb County (metro Atlanta) officers, 1 Deer Park, TX, officer (10 days + reassignment), 3 Harris County, TX, deputies, an Indianapolis officer (suspended without pay with termination recommended), and others in places like Oklahoma City, New Bedford (MA), and various Arizona departments (some leading to resignation).
Additional cases of firing/resignation/arrest in Louisiana (Jefferson Parish deputy), Florida, Wisconsin, Massachusetts, and elsewhere.

These figures are incomplete undercounts. Many departments historically conducted little or no regular auditing of Flock usage logs (despite the system's audit trails), so additional cases continue to surface via media investigations, public records (e.g., sites aggregating audit data), victim complaints, or newly activated audit tools. Discipline is handled locally, reporting is uneven, and some suspensions remain pending or unresolved. Flock has responded by promoting/strengthening audit features and other safeguards, while noting that misconduct is by individuals rather than the technology itself.

In short, while exact nationwide counts of "fired or suspended specifically for Flock camera misuse" are not centrally tracked in an official tally, independent and journalistic reporting consistently points to dozens (with recent trackers near or above 60 for firings/resignations alone), amid broader accusations involving ~69 officials for Flock or similar systems. New cases have been reported frequently in 2026.

So 0.00933333%
(75/750,000)x100

Google AI answer:
There are more than 750,000 to 860,000 sworn, full-time law enforcement officers in the United States, spread across roughly 18,000 federal, state, and local agencies.

Also as a data point:

What's an acceptable arrest rate for LEO's who stalk ex-lovers using taxpayer-funded surveillance systems that the taxpayers did not vote for or otherwise approve?

I would say the acceptable abuse rate should be 0%. I firmly believe those that misuse the system to stalk or gain a financial advantage should be held accountable. The same if a cop is caught stealing from a prisoner or stalking even without the use of Flock.

I am more afraid of the percentage of murders/shootings/crimes that don't get solved by taking away a system that works to catch criminals. If the city council wants to give CSPD 75 more police officers instead of the 75 cameras then that might be a fair trade.

Yet another LEO using Flock to stalk someone. This time it's just down the road in Fort Bend County.

https://abc13.com/post/officer-accused-misusing-flock-cameras-allegedly-stalk-woman-court-documents-show/19720238/

Without any effort or searching, I see news of a different set of cops abusing Flock every day. Literally.

That's just the ones that are caught and fired. There's probably 10X that have the wrists slapped behind closed doors, but nothing happens in public.

And most departments probably don't even bother to check on themselves.

Because of our sharing of our camera network these "bad apples" were able to search our data.

maroon barchetta said:

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Another day.
Another story of Flock abuse by an LEO.

I would hope our local departments are above this sort of thing.

https://www.kbtx.com/2026/08/21/temple-police-department-officer-resigns-after-unauthorized-use-flock-camera-discovered/?fbclid=IwY2xjawT1oLFwZG9mBGV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkDzQwOTk2MjYyMzA4NTYwOQABHmqP1GXUabLddWU7m4vX2cOBZ9FmDZk8AKH7aWcRDWVN5WaLn_gnGLcY-O2w_aem_orUAgMSFCiAK7mC5sMQgHw

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We share our camera network with:

• Temple TX PD

maroon barchetta said:

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Yet another LEO using Flock to stalk someone. This time it's just down the road in Fort Bend County.

https://abc13.com/post/officer-accused-misusing-flock-cameras-allegedly-stalk-woman-court-documents-show/19720238/

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We share our camera network with:

• Fort Bend County Const TX Pct 1
• Fort Bend County Const TX Pct 4
• Fort Bend County TX District Attorney's Office
• Fort Bend County TX Environmental Health
• Fort Bend County TX SO

maroon barchetta said:

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We keep seeing more of these stories. From all over.

https://abc13.com/post/3-deputies-access-flock-cameras-suspended-review-underway-harris-county-sheriffs-office-says/19679725/

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We share our camera network with:

• Harris County Const TX Pct 1
• Harris County Const TX Pct 2
• Harris County Const TX Pct 3
• Harris County Const TX Pct 4
• Harris County Const TX Pct 5
• Harris County Const TX Pct 8
• Harris County TX SO
• Harrison County TX SO

And because of that same sharing police were able to know where a person in a murder investigation was at, they determined where an ATM thief came and went from, and it helped track down a car thief.

mason12 said:

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And because of that same sharing police were able to know where a person in a murder investigation was at, they determined where an ATM thief came and went from, and it helped track down a car thief.

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Also they were able to know what their ex's were up to, how many times their ex-MIL picked the kids up at school and what time their crush stopped at Starbucks so they could conveniently be there to flirt.

That makes the city spend for the camera network *totally* worth it. /s

When I got a divorce, I moved back here. *because* I didn't want to run into my ex at Walmart. I met a hot redhead grad student, and the rest is history.

Hornbeck said:

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That makes the city spend for the camera network *totally* worth it. /s

When I got a divorce, I moved back here. *because* I didn't want to run into my ex at Walmart. I met a hot redhead grad student, and the rest is history.

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mason12 said:

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And because of that same sharing police were able to know where a person in a murder investigation was at, they determined where an ATM thief came and went from, and it helped track down a car thief.

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This helps justify LEO's stalking people.

Great job everybody!

mason12 said:

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And because of that same sharing police were able to know where a person in a murder investigation was at, they determined where an ATM thief came and went from, and it helped track down a car thief.

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Some people might dismiss these nearby incidents with, "But it isn't in College Station, our cops are good." I was pointing out these incidents may have actually involved College Station flock data due to our sharing configuration.

This is a complex issue. There are definitely cases where having flock has led to better outcomes. More often, I think, flock helps us reach the same results faster, which mainly boosts efficiency. But with around six new officer positions in the budget, it's clearly not enough to balance everything else.

I also appreciate that it is a honeypot for bad apples and I do not mind it clearing out the lot of them. Regardless of the outcome of Flock in College Station, we should use this opportunity to increase security, auditability, and accountability across the board for systems like this. (Flock, NCIC, etc)

The fact that a partner organization allowed an officer to misuse our data should prompt us to conduct an audit or review, covering the data accessed by that individual as well as the organization as a whole. The very fact that any user was capable of this should prompt a review of the entire sharing policy with a simple underlying question - "How do we prevent misuse of College Station data?"

It amazes me that we're so careful about our own officers accessing the system, signifying that we understand the sensitivity of the data, yet we seem to place no restrictions at all on other organizations.

I'm less concerned about someone stalking their ex and more concerned about being pulled over at gunpoint because my vehicle was misidentified as stolen or used in a crime. It doesn't matter how good your cops are if they're given bad information. https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/case-case-every-reported-flock-175653036.html

I am afraid of rights being given up and/or violated.
I am afraid of abuse of the system.
I am afraid of Pandora's Box opening with such tech.
I am afraid of it all.

Lufkin suspends its Flock camera grid, because of officer abuse.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/100-felony-counts-1-officer-141256347.html

CSPD specifically states on their flock transparency portal that they do not search for people.
https://transparency.flocksafety.com/college-station-tx-pd#policy-and-trust

However in the Network Audit Logs I gathered from open records requests you can see that they have.
Thursday July 16th, 2026
Search Time (Central), Search Type, Text Prompt, Moderation,
7:25:15 PM objectClass:people, motorcycle black backpack, blue pants, allow
7:25:19 PM objectClass:people, motorcycle black backpack, blue pants, allow
7:25:26 PM objectClass:people, motorcycle black backpack, allow
7:25:40 PM objectClass:people, black helmet, black backpack, blue pants, allow
The reason that was stated for this search: Criminal Motor Vehicle Offense (incl. Road Rage/Reckless) - criminal mischief report

objectClass:people is a type of search using flock's freeform search integration.
"Flock FreeForm is a natural-language search tool...Type what you're looking for, such as "man in blue shirt and cowboy hat"
https://www.flocksafety.com/products/flock-freeform

This is not the first time Flock has misled/lied to our police officers and Chief Couch which causes Chief Couch to rely false information to the council and the public. This is a pattern of behavior Flock engages in again and again.

Pflugerville being a leader.

I would counter argue that is not searching for a person. To me searching for a person would be telling the system to find "John Hamilton" or find a white male with white hair.

I am okay with the search you showed. It appears that a motorcyclists became a hot head and damaged someone else's property in a fit of road rage. If the victim couldn't see the suspect's motorcycle license plate how else are police supposed to catch the person?

If this happened on northbound Texas Ave near Harvey I would ask the cops to check the cameras in the area to identify to the motorcycle with the hope of identifying the driver. I am all for holding criminals accountable.

I understand that them using the word motorcycle makes it seems like it is not a people search. If you read the link I posted from Flock they go into detail all the ways this search works.

objectClass:people is an classification and identifier to categorize people to allow searches for things like, clothing, hats, age, weight, height, gender all in plain language.

Here is a picture example.
https://storage.ghost.io/c/0f/76/0f76b548-bc58-4f25-abc3-3f5ebca07da4/content/images/size/w1000/2025/11/flock-ml-2-1.png

Here is an article from 404 Media also going into more detail about the people search.
https://www.404media.co/how-cops-use-flock-to-track-people-not-cars/

Finally here are all the objectClass:people searches that have ran through the Bryan or College Station Network.

Org Name,Search Time,Search Type,Text Prompt
Bryan TX PD,"07/16/2025, 03:03:53 PM UTC",freeform,objectClass:person white pants
Bryan TX PD,"07/16/2025, 03:04:10 PM UTC",freeform,objectClass:person white pants black shirt
Texas Department of Public Safety,"09/24/2025, 03:00:40 PM UTC",freeform,objectClass:person a person with a gun
Bryan TX PD,"11/17/2025, 02:29:46 PM UTC",freeform,objectClass:people white male with ball cap
Bryan TX PD,"11/25/2025, 06:34:17 PM UTC",freeform,objectClass:people red shirt blue bike
Bryan TX PD,"11/25/2025, 06:34:40 PM UTC",freeform,objectClass:people red shirt on bicycle
Bryan TX PD,"11/25/2025, 06:35:05 PM UTC",freeform,"objectClass:people red shirt, bicycle"
Bryan TX PD,"11/25/2025, 06:35:23 PM UTC",freeform,"objectClass:people red shirt, bicycle"
Bryan TX PD,"11/25/2025, 06:35:39 PM UTC",freeform,"objectClass:people red shirt, bicycle"
Bryan TX PD,"12/23/2025, 05:11:23 AM UTC",freeform,"objectClass:people blue shirt, blue pants"
Bryan TX PD,"12/25/2025, 09:07:56 PM UTC",freeform,"objectClass:people black shirt, black backpack"
Bryan TX PD,"12/25/2025, 09:09:04 PM UTC",freeform,"objectClass:people black shirt, black backpack"
Texas Department of Public Safety,"02/24/2026, 03:56:01 PM UTC",freeform,objectClass:people black hoodie
Grand Prairie TX PD,"03/21/2026, 03:39:04 AM UTC",freeform,objectClass:people wheelchair
Texas Department of Public Safety,"03/22/2026, 02:20:12 AM UTC",freeform,objectClass:people Motorcycle white helmet
Texas Department of Public Safety,"04/16/2026, 08:22:54 PM UTC",freeform,objectClass:people man weasring a black t-shirt and shorts
Texas Department of Public Safety,"04/21/2026, 01:22:12 AM UTC",freeform,objectClass:people black harley davidson white t-shirt and black helmet
College Station TX PD, "07/17/2026, 12:25:15 AM UTC",freeform,"objectClass:people motorcycle black backpack, blue pants"
College Station TX PD,1,"07/17/2026, 12:25:19 AM UTC",freeform,"objectClass:people motorcycle black backpack, blue pants"
College Station TX PD,1,"07/17/2026, 12:25:26 AM UTC",freeform,objectClass:people motorcycle black backpack"
College Station TX PD,1,"07/17/2026, 12:25:40 AM UTC",freeform,"objectClass:people black helmet, black backpack, blue pants"

"white male with ball cap"

Well that narrows it down!

This quote has been sitting with me for a while:

"Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." Benjamin Franklin

I tried for a long time to justify these cameras. I still believe they have been a useful tool for law enforcement. I have come to the conclusion that the trade is not worth it. The cost is individual freedom, the same freedom men and women have died overseas to protect.

I trust the College Station Police Department. I believe they have used Flock responsibly and with safeguards. That is not the whole problem. As others in this forum have pointed out, other actors can get access to the same data set.

Flock has misled elected officials at every level. I watched them mislead our council. I watched them mislead our chief. I watched them sell "updates" as improvements that then began capturing Bluetooth and RFID signals, the kind of location tracking the Supreme Court has already treated as an infringement on the 4th amendment.

To our officers: if you are reading this, I support you 100%. I want you to have the tools you need to do the job well. I want better pay and counter UAS capability. I want you safe. This company is not the way. The downsides outweigh the upsides by a wide margin, and this particular line should not be crossed.

This country was built on integrity and leadership. Flock is the opposite of both. I was slow to say that out loud because I wanted a real compromise. I have not found one with this vendor or this technology.

I believe these systems will be restricted or banned at the state or federal level within the next 18 months.

I wanted to be thorough before saying any of this in public. Hope this makes my position clear.

Edit to say - what pushed me over the edge was the CEO of flock coming out and saying Americans need to "compromise" on their privacy. Absolutely not acceptable.

You have no way to know whether the CSPD has used Flock cameras in the appropriate manner. We won't know that until something comes to light that says they were not using them properly.

This is the same department that has told everyone who has asked, including the state, "No, we will not turn over body cam footage of a no-knock raid. Trust us. We didn't do anything wrong."

From the same city that said "no, Councilman, we won't give you correspondence between city staff and a local business owner with ideas of how he wants to transform the Macy's property."

Nobody is perfect. I have watched CSPD hold officers accountable, and they offer a level of transparency most departments don't. You raised examples I don't dismiss, I also don't have all the facts, so I'm not going to pass judgment from the outside.

I'm talking about the Flock systems. If I catch heat for saying I support and trust CSPD, so be it. That is not a position I will waver on. Everyone should be held accountable. If something happened while I was on council, I would demand that accountability.

Palestine taking action.

https://www.palestineherald.com/news/city-of-palestine-votes-to-remove-contracted-flock-cameras/article_0d4a5edc-bcfc-41cf-8491-7b2e740f423a.html