Active
Who approved this?
Approved 7-0 by Palo Alto City Council on April 3, 2023.
Council approved contract S23187316 with Flock Group Inc. by 7 to 0 on April 3, 2023, covering 20 fixed license plate reader cameras at a cost not to exceed 174,400 dollars over 3 years. Council Member Tanaka made the motion and Mayor Kou seconded it. The same motion adopted a fixed reader surveillance use policy, added 61,900 dollars to the Supplemental Law Enforcement Services Fund, held system access to sworn officers and dispatchers, and set a staff review 1 year after installation. The staff report puts the term at April 1, 2023 through June 30, 2026 with an optional 24 month extension. Images not tied to a criminal investigation are purged after 30 days. On December 2, 2024 council added 10 cameras and stretched the term for all 30 cameras into December 2029. At a June 1, 2026 study session staff said the Independent Police Auditor would return with a special report after the summer recess. The city has published no roll call for the December 2024 expansion. The minutes print surnames only.
| Official (as recorded) | Office | Vote |
|---|---|---|
| Burt | City Council member | Yes |
| Kou | Mayor | Yes |
| Lauing | City Council member | Yes |
| Lythcott-Haims | City Council member | Yes |
| Stone | City Council member | Yes |
| Tanaka | City Council member | Yes |
| Veenker | City Council member | Yes |
This contract expires June 30, 2026
0 days until the community decides.
The money
- Contract amount: $174,400
- Cameras: 20
- Contract amount per camera: $8,720 (about $2,907 a year)
- Term: 36 months
- Funding source: Other grant
What happens next
Renewals are decided in public. Residents can attend the meeting, speak during public comment, and write to the office above through official channels. The ACLU publishes a model cancellation resolution officials can adapt.
Sources
- Palo Alto Police Department staff report recommending the Flock Safety reader contract (April 3, 2023) paloalto.gov
- Palo Alto City Council action minutes recording the 7 to 0 vote (April 3, 2023) paloalto.gov
- Palo Alto City Council study session staff report on the Flock reader program (June 1, 2026) paloalto.gov
Last verified: September 8, 2026. Something wrong? Request a correction.
The record
Palo Alto City Council approved it on April 3, 2023. It passed 7-0. The named yes votes: Burt, Kou, Lauing, Lythcott-Haims, Stone, Tanaka, Veenker. It passed as a council vote item. Palo Alto Police Department runs the cameras.
The contract amount is $174,400. The term runs 3 years. The contract covers 20 cameras. That comes to about $8,720 per camera. The money: Year 1 paid through a state COPS grant routed into the Supplemental Law Enforcement Services Fund, with a 61,900 dollar fiscal year 2023 budget amendment. Later years were left to annual appropriation. A June 2026 staff report says a State of California Organized Retail Theft grant covers about one third of the Flock cost..
The contract is active. It runs through June 30, 2026; the decision calendar counts down to it.
3 sources back this record; each is listed with its date under Sources. Last verified September 8, 2026. See the rest of California on the California hub, or browse the whole tracker.
Cite this record
Who Approved This, "Palo Alto, CA Flock Contract," whoapprovedthis.org, accessed October 7, 2026, https://whoapprovedthis.org/city/ca-palo-alto/.
Related
Read on
- All 98 California records
- What the California file shows
- Every named vote on the tracker
- What these terms mean
- What a camera costs, record by record
- What state law does to a contract
- Rohnert Park, CA Active
- Santa Cruz, CA Canceled
- Mountain View, CA Canceled
- Camera locations near Palo Alto: DeFlock (external, crowdsourced)
- Agency transparency portal, if published: transparency.flocksafety.com; aggregated at Eyes on Flock