City Attorney Kenneth Buchman announces retirement after 35 years of service.
The city conducted its Regular Meeting of the City Commission on August 24 at City Hall. Mayor Nate Kilton called the meeting to order. Vice-Mayor Jason Jones, City Commissioner Mary Mathis, City Commissioner Karen Kerr, City Commissioner John Haney, City Attorney Kenneth Buchman, City Clerk Kerri Miller, and City Manager Bill McDaniel were present for the meeting. Pastor Dave Criner from City Pointe Church gave the invocation. The assembly followed with the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.
The meeting room was unusually full of citizens, and the reason became apparent during the allocated time for public comments. This agenda item allows approximately 30 minutes for residents to speak for three minutes on any subject concerning Plant City. Ten of the 11 residents who came forward addressed Flock Safety cameras. In July 2024, the City Commission passed a resolution, 4-0, funding the installation of these License Plate Readers (LPRs) throughout Plant City. Cameras have been installed at strategic points along major Plant City traffic arteries and in the community redevelopment area. The cameras are mounted on 10-foot poles angled to view vehicles. The purpose is to aid police investigations of crimes.
The system is currently networked with the Tampa Police Department, Lakeland Police, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, and the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, among other agencies. In real time, the positioned, high-speed cameras automatically scan passing license plates. The system works by connected law enforcement agencies entering license numbers or descriptions of vehicles connected to crimes. This can be used as one aspect of an investigation to identify potential perpetrators and exonerate innocent people. Also, with this technology, PCPD can identify what is called a vehicle fingerprint—the color, make, model, type of vehicle, rims, missing license plates, covered plates, and more than 20 additional vehicle details, such as roof racks and bumper stickers. When a crime occurs in which the PCPD needs to locate a vehicle, they can enter a vehicle description and receive results from the LPR system. Flock does not have facial recognition capability or access to driver personal information. Originally, 18 cameras were placed. Currently, an additional 22 cameras are in the installation process.
The citizens who came to the podium to speak were taking the opportunity since there would be a presentation about the Flock system at the meeting.
One of the citizens said he works in cybersecurity and is excited about the technology, but advocated for strong safeguards and monitoring of the Flock system. The rest said they oppose the Flock system and that it should be removed. Some speakers were passionate about how the cameras violate the right to privacy and could be used by government or others who access or hack the data to surveil citizens. Therefore, Flock and similar systems could be used to harass those who exercise unpopular freedom of speech and to oppress dissidence. After each speaker, many in the audience applauded enthusiastically.
PCPD Chief Rich Mills came to the podium to give the scheduled Flock Camera presentation. Almost as soon as he started, a young man in the crowd interrupted, voicing protest of Flock. Mayor Kilton pounded once on the dais to quiet all voices. “Ladies and gentlemen, we are not doing that tonight,” he said. “I want to be very clear on that at the outset, okay. You’re going to be quiet, and you’re going to respect our Chief, and you’re going to respect the conversation. If you can’t, then you are going to have to leave.”
Chief Mills then proceeded to make the case that Flock cameras are a useful tool that gives PCPD leads much faster than normal. The cameras do not follow vehicles through GPS. They capture independent photos. PCPD retains data for 30 days; after that, it is purged and is no longer accessible by anyone. Also, PCPD has established security connected to Flock. Only certified users can log in. Dual authentication is necessary to log in. Checks have been established, such as requiring a case number to use Flock. External monitoring and monthly internal supervisory review are in place to identify any misuse. Any staff who violate usage standards are subject to disciplinary action. To date, PCPD has used the system to resolve 101 cases, leading to 11 arrests. Among the successes are one homicide arrest, one hit-and-run fatality arrest, recovery of four stolen vehicles, four domestic violence arrests, and locating two missing people.
“Chief, thank you for setting the stage for the conversation this evening,” Mayor Kilton commented at the conclusion of Mills’ presentation. “It is very appropriate to recognize everybody in the audience who has concerns about this. I just wanted to echo that. Thank you for coming out to share your concerns. That’s why we are here tonight. We are not trying to hide anything. This is about having a public dialog. That is what we are supposed to do….This evening is not about making a decision to take it away or leave it. It is about information for us at the dais and for those in our community about how it is being used.” The Mayor then praised PCPD for protecting the community and led the audience in applause for the department.
The Mayor went on to speak about three questions he is using to evaluate Flock: 1) Is it legal? 2) What is the protection of the data? 3) Is it effective? Then he and the commissioners asked questions to probe the security and appropriate use of Flock. PCPD Captain Robert McLellan and Jalen Johnson, a representative for Flock Systems, stepped to the microphone to give details about the technology and proactive auditing of the system to identify misuse. Again, people from the audience attempted to interject questions, protests, and disputes of the data during the presentation. Each time, the Mayor or Commissioner Mathis quieted the interruptions. One man would not cease his protests and was asked to leave. After the presentation, much of the crowd exited the room. When Johnson left, a woman’s voice in the hallway could be heard shouting, “Liar!” several times. A handful of those opposed to the use of Flock cameras remained in the hallway to discuss amongst themselves and give comments to a news station.
The City Commission meeting proceeded with the section for city staff to address the Commission on city matters. In big news for The City of Plant City, after 35 years serving as City Attorney, Kenneth Buchman announced he will be retiring in January 2027.
Among other business, City Commissioners voted 5-0 to approve:
-The interlocal funding agreement between Hillsborough County and the city for the administration of the Community Development Block Grant Program, for fiscal 2025-26.
-$643,750 for sand and sludge management services at the Water Reclamation Facility (WRF); including the addition of 650 tons of sand for the filtration system. In addition, $67,165 is needed for replacement components for the system.
-$65,605 for fiber relocation between the WRF and Fire Station #2.
The meeting adjourned at 8:00 p.m.
