Canceled
Who approved this?
No source names who approved this contract yet. Contracts that arrive through procurement or a purchasing threshold often leave no vote to record.
New Hanover County commissioners voted 4 to 0 on September 8, 2026 to cancel the sheriff's automated license plate reader service after a closed session. Vice Chair Dane Scalise made the motion and LeAnn Pierce seconded it, with Rob Zapple and Stephanie Walker also voting yes and Bill Rivenbark attending remotely without voting. Port City Daily put the full agreement at $219,000 covering 36 devices, of which 20 are plate readers and 8 are Condor cameras that stream high resolution video. No contract amount is recorded here because that figure covers the video cameras as well as the readers. Sheriff Ed McMahon had told WECT on August 25, 2026 that the office ran 28 plate readers plus 8 pan tilt zoom cameras in county parks, a count that does not match the meeting figure of 20 readers, and both figures are named here rather than averaged. Zapple said he was uncomfortable with the reach of mass surveillance. The agreement had been set to run to spring 2027.
New Hanover County ended its Flock contract
Contract ended a date pending records.
The money
- Cameras: 20
What happens next
This decision already happened in public; the record and its sources are above. If the community revisits the question, that decision would follow the same public process: a noticed meeting, public comment, and a recorded outcome, all through official channels.
Sources
- WECT investigation with Sheriff McMahon on camera counts and data retention (August 25, 2026) wect.com
- Port City Daily report on the contract figure, device mix and funding sources (September 9, 2026) portcitydaily.com
Last verified: September 9, 2026. Something wrong? Request a correction.
The record
New Hanover County Board of Commissioners approved it; the sources give no date. Operating agency: New Hanover County Sheriff's Office.
The agency reports 20 cameras. It was paid for via Sheriff's office discretionary funds in year 1, then the county budget technology line in year 2.
The contract is now canceled.
2 sources back this record; each is listed with its date under Sources. Last verified September 9, 2026. The North Carolina hub holds the state records; the tracker holds them all.
Cite this record
Who Approved This, "New Hanover County, NC Flock Contract," whoapprovedthis.org, accessed October 10, 2026, https://whoapprovedthis.org/city/nc-new-hanover-county/.
Related
Read on
- Pitt County, NC Active
- Apex, NC Active
- Gaston County, NC Active
- Camera locations near New Hanover County: DeFlock (external, crowdsourced)
- Agency transparency portal, if published: transparency.flocksafety.com; aggregated at Eyes on Flock