Toledo City Council members are considering a resolution urging the mayor to cancel a license plate reader contract. The measure asks the city administration to remove the devices and delete all collected data. A vote on the measure is scheduled for Oct. 20.
Council members spent time Tuesday discussing the proposal. Privacy concerns prompted the introduction of the measure.
Resident Sean Nestor attended the meeting and spoke against the camera system.
“You can choose to be on the right side now, or you can choose to wait until the people speak and deal with the consequences when you come up for election,” Nestor said. “It’s interesting to see that more and more council members are starting to see the light, and shifting more toward where the overwhelming majority of the public is,which is that they want to see the elimination of these cameras.”
Council member Nick Komives said the cameras do not prevent criminal acts. He also called the devices expensive.
“The problem is that the cameras aren’t preventing crime in the first place,” Komives said. “They’re very expensive to have, and the public very much finds that these cameras are an invasion of privacy,they’re an invasion of their constitutional rights.”
Council member George Sarantou defended the license plate readers during the meeting. He stated several local criminal justice leaders view the network as useful.
“The fact of the matter is, the chief of police, the county prosecutor, a respected Common Pleas Court judge, have all said that these cameras are valuable,” Sarantou said. “They’ve helped solve crimes. They’ve increased the solving of murders, violent crime, domestic violence, robberies.”
Council members recently approved a separate measure involving the hardware. That vote authorized the Toledo city auditor to complete a full review of the system. Officials have established no timeline for finishing the audit.
City Safety Director George Kral released a written statement regarding the pending review. He urged council members to wait for the auditor before acting.
“We take the concerns surrounding Flock technology seriously, particularly when it comes to protecting residents’ privacy and ensuring the responsible use of information collected by our police department,” Kral said. “Three weeks ago, City Council unanimously approved an independent audit of the City’s use and oversight of the Flock system. We support that audit and, like everyone else, want to see what it reveals.”
Kral noted the municipality has operated the camera technology for nearly two decades. The safety director pledged corrective steps if the inquiry uncovers problems.
“If the audit identifies misuse or failures in oversight, we will take appropriate action,” Kral said. “But we need to let the independent review do its job before deciding what comes next.”
City councils consider resolutions to state official positions on municipal policy. These formal measures typically advise administrators on contract decisions.
The full legislative body will meet again in Toledo to vote on the measure.
