Draper residents are pressing city leaders on a proposed contract with Flock Safety, a company that makes automated license plate reader cameras, but the City Council has yet to schedule a formal vote on the deal.

The cameras were not on the agenda at the council's Tuesday, Aug. 18 meeting, though residents raised the topic during public comments, according to the city's meeting recap. The council took no action. No staff report, contract terms, camera count or deployment locations have been made public.

The issue has become tangled with Draper's 25% property tax increase, which the council approved 5-0 that same night. At the city's Aug. 12 Truth in Taxation hearing, multiple speakers argued the city should cut discretionary spending, including surveillance technology, rather than raise taxes, according to a summary on the city's OpenUtah platform.

Draper resident Samantha wrote to the council ahead of that hearing: "Cuts should be made to things that are extra to the cities operating costs and City should do better about being more fiscally responsible because no city, no city in America, is really doing that." Communications Director Linda Peterson forwarded the email to Mayor Troy Walker and the full council.

The approved budget does not include a line item for Flock cameras. The $54.1 million general fund allocates $14.3 million to police (up 5.8%) and $8.5 million to fire (up 6.9%), with three new firefighter positions funded at $415,000.

Police Chief Richard Ferguson addressed the broader surveillance question weeks earlier. On July 23, the department posted a statement on the city's X account saying it had received community questions about its use of ALPRs and was committed to transparency about the technology it uses. The department's website lists a published ALPR policy under its police policies page.

On the city's OpenUtah discussion board, two Flock-related topics each drew one comment in the past 30 days. The separate property tax topic attracted 10 comments in the same period, with some residents specifically criticizing surveillance spending alongside the rate hike.

No date has been announced for a council vote on the Flock contract. Residents can contact police administration at (801) 576-6314 for questions about the department's ALPR policies.