Coralville City Council members have decided to take down the city’s two Automated License Plate Readers (ALPR) following ardent opposition from members of the community that spanned several months.
In a 3-1 vote Tuesday, the council voted to terminate the city’s contract with Flock Safety, a nationwide ALPR vendor that has come under fire for its use of artificial intelligence to provide law enforcement with detailed information about vehicles without a warrant.
The council also rescinded its policy regarding the police department's use of the readers following an inquiry from the Iowa Attorney General’s Office ordering the city to update its policy to comply with state and federal immigration enforcement laws.
“I commend you for showing the leadership required to change course when the community’s voice is clear,” said Coralville Parks & Recreation Commissioner Dan Wohlers, during a public comment period. “For months, you have sat here and listened as citizen after citizen came forward to express their views on Flock and surveillance.”
Residents urged the council to take accountability for approving a two-year, $36,000 contract with Flock as part of its budget process last year. Coralville resident Linda Mullen called for an independent, public inquiry to find what policies or laws may have been broken.
“Most importantly, what specific changes, including potential personnel changes, you will make so that a contract of this size and nature can never again be signed without your knowledge and approval,” Mullen said to the council.
The council approved the city's fiscal year 2026 budget last April after hearing a presentation from the city's director of finance, Ann Hester. One slide about upcoming public safety expenditures mentioned "license plate reading system access," though Hester did not expand on it at the time. An item for a "license plate recognition system" was previously included in a list of budget increases during a January 2025 work session.
One month later, Police Chief Kyle Nicholson signed the contract following correspondence with City Administrator Kelly Hayworth, though Council member Hai Huynh wrote this week that it was signed before the council had discussed the matter.
Minutes from a council work session in June 2025 described a Flock representative giving a presentation to the council about ALPRs. Many members of the public said this was the first time they became aware of the contract.
Over the next several months, Coralville residents urged the council to cancel the contract. Council members opted instead to institute a policy regulating how the city's police officers could use the system.
“From the beginning of the process, I think we were promised some discussion of our purchasing policy,” said Council member Mike Knudson. "I certainly hope that happens soon. It did seem pretty clear to me on my read of that policy that this should have come to a vote.”
The lone dissenting vote on Tuesday came from Council member Rich Vogelzang, who read a prepared statement ahead of the vote.
“There are many, many other communities that understand the value and the logic of having the license plate readers in their community,” he said. “They have experienced actual proven successes by having Flock cameras in their communities. They understand that law-abiding citizens do not need to be concerned about having..."
Vogelzang was interrupted by a chorus of laughter from the meeting’s attendees before he continued by saying he believed the community’s silent majority supports the city having ALPRs.
He said many people had come to him over the past several months expressing support for the cameras.
While some community members advocated for the system during previous council meetings, everyone who spoke during the 15-minute public comment period ahead of Tuesday's vote urged the council to cancel the contract.
“I can honestly say that in my mailbox, in my text messages, in my conversation with community members, there has been some support," said Council member Huynh. "But the number of supporters for Flock — minute compared to the number against it."
Huynh said a vote to end the city’s use of ALPRs is not an expression of a lack of support for its law enforcement officers.
“I want to stress that I respect and appreciate the work that our police department and our officers do every day,” she said. “They put their life on the line every day for our community’s safety. I don’t discount that. But voting against a technology does not mean that we don’t support them.”
Following the vote, some attendees said they were unsatisfied with the city administrator's answer to a question from Council member Katie Freeman about when the readers will be taken down.
“It will be within days,” Hayworth said.
The part of the city’s contract with Flock regarding its termination is just as ambiguous: “Upon termination or expiration of this Agreement, Flock will remove any applicable Flock Hardware at a commercially reasonable time period.”
