A week of Flock decisions produces fewer documents than it produces headlines. This guide explains how to read one week of Flock decisions against the ledger, using records already on the tracker. It applies to every Decision Watch recap on this site.
The four outcomes that keep recurring
Almost every week resolves into one of four results, and each one leaves a different trace.
A body approves. Warren, Michigan renewed a second two-year term at $132,000 on July 14, 2026, by 4 votes to 3, in a second vote taken after Councilwoman Melody Magee asked to reconsider the first one. An approval adds an amount, a term, and usually a date.
A body rejects. Denver’s council turned down a two-year, $666,000 extension in May 2025. Seven records carry a Rejected status, among them Portsmouth, Rhode Island. A rejection can be followed by a smaller purchase that never returns to the council, which is what happened in Denver when the mayor’s office signed a $498,500 extension, just under the $500,000 threshold that would have required a council vote.
A body defers. The ledger does not move, because nothing has been signed and nothing has ended. A deferral is still worth recording, because it tells you the item exists.
A contract lapses. Salem, Massachusetts let its contract run out without a vote. Seven records sit at Expired, including Los Angeles and Austin.
Across 1,044 records the split today is 175 Active, 53 Canceled, 12 Suspended, 7 Expired, 7 Rejected, 7 Renewal upcoming, and 3 Pending first vote. The outcomes page defines each status.
Why a tally can appear before names do
A vote count reaches the public the same night. The names attached to it often do not.
Reporting on the Rockford, Illinois vote of March 2, 2026 gave the tally as 13 to 1 and named only the member who voted no, Ald. Gina Meeks. The Lexington, Kentucky extension passed 14 to 1 on April 25, 2024, with only Councilmember Tayna Fogle named. Warren is the exception on this site because coverage listed both sides, so all 7 members appear on the record and on the officials page.
A record shows no roll call until a document names each member. Approved minutes usually supply that weeks later. A blank beats a guess, so a recap can carry a tally on the night and gain names later without the count ever changing.
Why a deferral often lands with no new date
Motions to table, lay over, or refer an item rarely set a return date. The item comes back when staff place it on an agenda again.
Rockford shows both halves of this. Ald. Tamir Bell moved to hold the contract two weeks and send it to the Community Relations Commission; the motion failed on a 7 to 7 tie that Mayor Tom McNamara declined to break, and the contract vote went ahead the same night. Had it carried, the ledger would have shown no change and the calendar would have shown no date, because neither a signature nor a notice would exist.
The calendar lists a date only when an agenda, a notice, or a contract end date states one.
What a suspension means next to a cancellation
Canceled means the agreement ended. Suspended means the cameras stopped while the agreement stands, which leaves a renewal date still running in the background.
Twelve records carry Suspended, among them Nashville, Tennessee. Fifty-three carry Canceled, among them Bandera, Texas, where the council voted 3 to 2 to end a grant-funded contract. A suspension can turn into either outcome, so it is the status most worth rechecking. Termination tallies are recorded in the summary text rather than in the roll call, which is reserved for approval votes.
How the calendar and the ledger relate
The calendar looks forward and the ledger looks back. As of August 5, 2026, the calendar carries a scheduled vote in Columbus, Ohio on August 10, one in Chandler, Arizona on August 13, one in Fort Wayne, Indiana on August 25, and a renewal deadline in Fitchburg, Wisconsin on September 23.
None of those dates changes a record. The ledger moves when a document exists: a signed agreement, an adopted resolution, a termination letter, or a contract end date that has passed. That gap is why a recap can name a city twice in six weeks, once for a date and once for a result.
What to do with a week of it
Start from the tracker and filter by state or status. If a figure you need is missing, the records request guide names the office that holds the document, usually the clerk. Every record and every number on this site is downloadable from the data page as CSV or JSON, so a tally you disagree with can be checked against the same rows.
Find your city. The tracker lists every documented Flock contract, the vote that approved it, and the renewal date. Alerts email you before the next decision.