El Paso City Council orders Flock plate reader cameras off city property and bars new contracts without a further vote
The El Paso City Council took up two items filed by members of the council at its September 15th, 2026 meeting. The published minutes now carry what each amendment changed. The first directs the City Manager to remove every Flock Safety fixed automated license plate reader camera and its hardware from city property and right of way. It sets 60 days, whoever owns the equipment. An amendment adopted without dissent lets the city bag or cover any camera it can't remove in time, for 30 more days. After that all of the hardware must come down. The second directs the City Manager not to enter, renew or extend any contract for fixed networked plate reader cameras or similar technology unless the council directs otherwise later. An amendment adds that such a direction follows a proposal from the City Manager, the police department or a member of the council. That amendment split the council evenly and the mayor broke the tie. The City Attorney has 30 days to bring back a resolution carrying out the second item. El Paso sits outside the ERCOT region.
How to take part
The meeting has been held and the council's own page for it stays public. That page lists both items and the action taken on each, and it now links the published minutes, which carry the text of both amendments and the votes on them. The meeting video is linked from the same page.
Where
1 county. In El Paso.
Timeline
- hearing
the council meeting at which both items are set
- decided
Council approved both items as revised
- Today
How this decision moved
One dated line per check, oldest first. A line that says nothing changed means somebody looked and it had not.
- 2026-09-12
Admitted on the council's own agenda for the September 15th meeting. Neither item has been voted on.
- 2026-09-14
Both items are still posted to the council's own agenda and neither has been voted on. Nothing has been added to the agenda that narrows what the two would do to the fixed plate reader cameras.
- 2026-09-15
Both items are still posted to the council's own agenda and the meeting they are set for is today. Neither has been voted on and nothing has been filed against either.
- 2026-09-18
The council voted and both items carried. The meeting record now marks each one approved as revised. That moves this from two posted agenda items to a direction the City Manager has been given. What the amendments changed is unconfirmed. The minutes are marked final and their text is not published yet.
- 2026-09-18
Reworded after a code review. The title and the opening stated the items as filed as though they were what the council enacted, and the approved-as-revised fact arrived fifth. The vote is confirmed and the amendment text is not published, so every directive is now marked as filed and the revision is the first thing a reader meets. No claim changed and nothing was added.
- 2026-09-21
Both plate reader items still stand approved as revised. The text of the floor amendments is still unpublished, so what the council changed before it voted stays off the public record.
- 2026-09-24
Both plate reader items remain approved as revised. The floor amendments are still unpublished, so what the council changed before voting is still not on the public record.
- 2026-09-27
The council's approval of both plate reader items still stands, and the text of the amendment is still unpublished.
- 2026-09-30
Both plate reader approvals still stand as the council voted them, and the amended text has still not been published.
- 2026-10-03
The council's minutes are now published and carry both amendments. Cameras the city can't remove in time may be covered for a further period before they come down. A later contract needs a proposal from the City Manager, the police department or a council member. The mayor broke a tie on that second amendment.
- 2026-10-06
El Paso's published minutes still carry the order taking Flock cameras off city property, both amendments included.
- 2026-10-09
El Paso's minutes still carry the order taking Flock cameras off city property and barring new contracts without a further vote.
- 2026-10-12
El Paso's order keeping Flock cameras off city property still stands, and a new contract still needs another council vote.
- 2026-10-15
El Paso's minutes still keep Flock cameras off city property and require another council vote for any new contract.
- 2026-10-18
El Paso's minutes still keep Flock cameras off city property and require another vote for a new contract. The meeting detail page is unconfirmed.
- 2026-10-21
Checked and unchanged. The decision still stands as decided.
- 2026-10-24
El Paso's order taking Flock cameras off city property still stands, and new contracts still need a further vote.
- 2026-10-29
El Paso's order taking Flock cameras off city property still stands. One attachment is a scan.
- 2026-11-01
El Paso's order taking Flock cameras off city property reads as passed in the council's own minutes.
- 2026-11-05
El Paso's order taking Flock cameras off city property still stands.
- 2026-11-08
El Paso's order moving Flock cameras off city property, and its bar on new contracts without a vote, still stand.
- 2026-11-11
El Paso's order still keeps Flock plate reader cameras off city property and still bars new contracts without another council vote.
The evidence
Every fact above rests on one of these. The words are the source's own.
Discussion and action directing the City Manager to ensure the removal, within 60 days, of all Flock Safety fixed automated license plate reader (ALPR) cameras and related hardware located on or within City property, City right-of-way, or otherwise within the City's control, regardless of whether such cameras or hardware are owned by Flock Safety, the City of El Paso, or any third party, including by physically removing such equipment or coordinating its removal by the appropriate party.https://elpasotexas.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=1438138&GUID=31 Primary source, official · elpasotexas.legistar.com
Discussion and action directing the City Manager to refrain from entering into, executing, renewing, or extending any contract, agreement, or other arrangement with Flock Safety or any other provider for the acquisition, installation, operation, maintenance, or use of fixed, networked automated license plate reader (ALPR) cameras or substantially similar technology, unless otherwise directed by subsequent action of the City Council; and directing the City Attorney to draft and return to the City Council within 30 days a resolution to further effectuate this direction.https://elpasotexas.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=1438138&GUID=31 Primary source, official · elpasotexas.legistar.com
Agenda status: Final Meeting date/time: 9/15/2026 9:00 AMhttps://elpasotexas.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=1438138&GUID=31 Primary source, official · elpasotexas.legistar.com
coordinating its removal by the appropriate party. Approved as Revised PassEl Paso City Council, meeting detail for September 15th, 2026 Primary source, official · elpasotexas.legistar.com
resolution to further effectuate this direction. Approved as Revised PassEl Paso City Council, meeting detail for September 15th, 2026 Primary source, official · elpasotexas.legistar.com
Minutes status: FinalEl Paso City Council, meeting detail for September 15th, 2026 Primary source, official · elpasotexas.legistar.com
Published minutes: 09-15-2026 Regular City Council Meeting MinutesEl Paso City Council, meeting detail for September 15th, 2026 Primary source, official · elpasotexas.legistar.com
If full removal of all Flock hardware is not possible within 60 days, enclosing the remaining cameras and all accessory hardware (with the exception of poles affixed to the ground) within fully opaque bags or covers that fully restrict their use is an acceptable interim alternative for an additional period of 30 days, after which all Flock hardware must be fully removed.El Paso City Council, minutes of the regular meeting of September 15th, 2026 Primary source, official · elpasotexas.legistar.com
Motion made by Representative Canales, seconded by Representative Limón, and unanimously carried to DIRECT the City Manager to ensure the removal, within 60 days, of all Flock Safety fixed automated license plate reader (ALPR) camerasEl Paso City Council, minutes of the regular meeting of September 15th, 2026 Primary source, official · elpasotexas.legistar.com
following a proposal or recommendation brought forward by the City Manager, the El Paso Police Department, or a member of the City CouncilEl Paso City Council, minutes of the regular meeting of September 15th, 2026 Primary source, official · elpasotexas.legistar.com
AYES: Representatives Chávez, Boyar Trejo, Niño, and Fierro NAYS: Representatives Acevedo, Maldonado-Rocha, Limón, and CanalesEl Paso City Council, minutes of the regular meeting of September 15th, 2026 Primary source, official · elpasotexas.legistar.com
Mayor Johnson broke the tie by votingEl Paso City Council, minutes of the regular meeting of September 15th, 2026 Primary source, official · elpasotexas.legistar.com
Motion made by Representative Canales, seconded by Representative Limón, and unanimously carried to DIRECT the City Manager to refrain from entering into, executing, renewing, or extending any contractEl Paso City Council, minutes of the regular meeting of September 15th, 2026 Primary source, official · elpasotexas.legistar.com
Questions about this decision
Answered from the record itself. Every answer is assembled from stored fields, so an answer the record has no basis for is left out rather than guessed.
What is this decision?
The El Paso City Council took up two items filed by members of the council at its September 15th, 2026 meeting. The published minutes now carry what each amendment changed. The first directs the City Manager to remove every Flock Safety fixed automated license plate reader camera and its hardware from city property and right of way. It sets 60 days, whoever owns the equipment. An amendment adopted without dissent lets the city bag or cover any camera it can't remove in time, for 30 more days. After that all of the hardware must come down. The second directs the City Manager not to enter, renew or extend any contract for fixed networked plate reader cameras or similar technology unless the council directs otherwise later. An amendment adds that such a direction follows a proposal from the City Manager, the police department or a member of the council. That amendment split the council evenly and the mayor broke the tie. The City Attorney has 30 days to bring back a resolution carrying out the second item. El Paso sits outside the ERCOT region.
Who decides it?
El Paso City Council decides. The record names the deciding body for every entry it carries.
Can the public take part?
The meeting has been held and the council's own page for it stays public. That page lists both items and the action taken on each, and it now links the published minutes, which carry the text of both amendments and the votes on them. The meeting video is linked from the same page. No dated public window is on the record. The deciding body is named and reachable.
Where in Texas does it apply?
It covers El Paso County.
Has it been decided?
It has been decided. The dates on the item page carry when.
What happens next?
No future date is on the record. The last dated step on it was decided on September 15th.
When did it start?
The earliest date on its record is September 15th, 2026.
What kind of decision is it?
It is filed under surveillance and policing.
What sources back it?
Two sources back it. Two of them are primary.
Is it on the ERCOT grid?
No. It sits outside the ERCOT interconnection.
When was it last checked?
Every fact on it was last verified against its source on November 11th, 2026.
Cite this
Texas AI Docket, El Paso City Council orders Flock plate reader cameras off city property and bars new contracts without a further vote. Tracked since September 12th, 2026. Last verified November 11th, 2026. https://texasaidocket.com/item/tx-2026-0147/. Reuse permitted under CC BY 4.0 with attribution. The same entry is in the docket JSON as item tx-2026-0147.
Beat
Filed under Surveillance and policing, with every other decision on that beat.