Springfield council hears from Flock camera opponents

Two dozen community members gave public testimony Tuesday evening, Sept. 2, at the first Springfield City Council meeting after a two-month summer recess. 

Twelve of them spoke against the potential use of Flock Safety license-plate recognition cameras by Springfield police.

According to information on Flock Safety’s website, Springfield police have not yet installed license-plate readers, but police Chief Jami Resch has previously said the city plans to install 25 cameras. 

“This AI-powered, mass surveillance system is inherently intrusive and dangerous and unconstitutional, and it is in the public interest to terminate the contract with Flock Safety, which is what I ask you to do,” Kamryn Stringfield told the council.

Commenters said they had concerns over how Flock Safety shares the data its cameras capture, as well as the company’s data security. 

“You will be told that everything is fine and safe because your police department has a contract that states that they own the data,” Rob Sheldon, an organizer with the workgroup Eyes Off Eugene, testified to the council. “This is a lie. As recent national news so clearly illustrated, Flock is able to provide anyone else access to that data at any time.”

According to a report from The Associated Press, Flock Safety put a hold recently on pilot programs with the Department of Homeland Security’s Customs and Border Protection and its law enforcement arm, Homeland Security Investigations, after officials in Illinois expressed concerns with how their Flock data was being used. 

U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden has said Flock Safety is committed to filtering out requests for data related to immigration or abortion coming into any Oregon law enforcement agency.

In Eugene, police installed the first license-plate reader cameras in May. According to Flock Safety’s website, Eugene police have 67 cameras.

Resch has said that the license-plate readers will be placed along major roads, with the intent to cover all roads leading into and out of town. Springfield police are leasing the cameras from Flock Safety with the use of a retail theft grant from the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission. 

“As we have heard from many folks tonight, there are a lot of concerns about essential services facing financial difficulty, firefighters being overworked, and the library facing budget cuts,” Sam Cook told the city council via Zoom. “Asking us to eventually pay for a system which spies on us and enriches a private corporation that seeks to profit off of our information while essential services face dire circumstances is ludicrous.”

Ky Fireside expressed concerns about police agencies in nonsanctuary states receiving access to the data. Fireside said Eyes Off Eugene filed public records requests for the proposed locations of the Flock cameras in Springfield. Fireside said cameras are planned for the Gateway area.

“Which means you will be filmed if you go to RiverBend hospital. There are a number of other health care facilities there, including one that is well-known in the queer community for providing gender-affirming care,” Fireside said. “This is the facility that I go to for gender-affirming care, and I no longer have a way to get there without being filmed.”

Councilors thanked the commenters for voicing their concerns around the cameras.

“This is why we’re all in this together, so that when these things move in this way that folks can bring this to our attention, and we can take a beat and try to figure out what’s going on with it,” said Councilor Kori Rodley.

Mayor Sean VanGordon asked city manager Nancy Newton to prepare a memo with more information about Springfield’s contract with Flock Safety and how the city is implementing it.

“I thought the comment about security was compelling. I also think the comment about their location around medical facilities was particularly compelling,” VanGordon told the room.

He said the council will receive the memo from Newton and then have a longer conversation about the cameras.

Firefighters union asks for separate district

Also at the meeting, a contingency of firefighters wearing bright yellow union T-shirts gave public comment in favor of new governance for the department in the form of a fire district.

The district would be separate from the cities and would have its own funding stream. Firefighters say strained city budgets are forcing them to make difficult decisions during emergencies.

Possible payroll tax 

During a work session before the general meeting, city councilors continued their discussion about a possible payroll tax. The council earlier this summer asked city staff to explore how a payroll tax could help balance the city’s budget.

A Fiscal Stability Task Force convened by the mayor earlier this year recommended the city council consider a payroll tax. The task force suggested the tax be simple to administer without tiered rates or exemptions. To align with task force recommendations, staff are modeling a tax that applies to entities located within Springfield city limits and include all types of employers and employees. 

If the city moves forward with the tax, it will be implemented in 2027. Councilors have not said if they would adopt the tax by ordinance or send the decision to voters. 

Springfield Finance Director Nathan Bell said he reached out to the state of Oregon and the city of Eugene to understand their experience implementing payroll taxes. With that information, he determined it could cost around $600,000 annually in administrative costs to enact the tax, which includes software and 1.5 full-time equivalent positions in the finance department. Bell said part of the administrative cost would be education for the community about the payroll tax.

The council agreed to move forward with a 0.1% payroll tax rate, split between employers and employees, which was recommended by the task force. For an employee earning $50,000 annually, the tax would be $50 per year, matched by the employer.

VanGordon said the council is penciling in that rate while the city gathers more feedback from the community.

“We’re a long way from the finish line,” he said. “There’s got to be something here that we don’t fully understand that that communication back and forth is going to help flesh out.”

While the councilors agreed to continue with a conversation around starting the tax rate at 0.1%, they mentioned needing built-in flexibility for potential rate increases. 

“I support the 0.1, but I do so cautiously, only because I know we have two big things we have to figure out one way or another: the fire department and the library,” Councilor Alan Stout said.

Rodley said she’s OK with moving forward with the 0.1% rate, but she wants to learn more about how the tax might impact businesses and lower wage earners.

The council also discussed whether to apply the tax before or after payroll deductions. If the payroll tax were to be applied to wages after deductions, it is estimated to raise $2.2 million annually. If it was applied to gross wages, it would net $2.9 million. 

Rodley said she would prefer to apply the tax after deductions for things like health care premiums and retirement savings because of how the tax could affect the “livability of working folks.”

Council member Michelle Webber said because the tax rate was so low she was OK with applying it to gross wages. 

VanGordon said the city should move forward with the payroll tax being applied to gross wages as it continues to gather feedback. 

VanGordon asked community members to take a survey to provide feedback to the city on its fiscal stability work. 

Doyle resignation

During the regular meeting, the councilors voted to accept the resignation of Councilor Victoria Doyle. The Ward 5 councilor submitted her resignation on Aug. 7, citing “increased responsibilities with her employer and a desire to prioritize family commitments.”

City staff will present a process for selecting a Ward 5 interim councilor at the next council meeting, Sept. 8. Council will hold a public hearing before adopting a process for appointing an interim councilor. The interim councilor will serve out the remainder of Doyle’s existing term through 2026.