Asheville City Council votes to terminate Flock contract

26 August 2026.

Asheville City Council voted 5-2 on August 26, 2026 to terminate the city's contract with Flock Safety, the Atlanta-based manufacturer of automatic license plate readers. Council members S. Anntanette Mosley and Sheneika Smith voted against the resolution. The city had been operating 11 Flock cameras; an additional 86 cameras operated by other entities such as homeowners associations and the school system remain in the city limits but were not affected by the vote.

The termination follows Mayor Esther Manheimer's call to end the contract in a social media video. The Asheville Police Department's Flock contract, which began in 2025 and was set to run through 2027, will now be reviewed by the city manager. The resolution specified that Asheville has not used facial recognition technology with Flock data nor shared data with facial recognition databases.

The council's decision reflects broader concerns about ALPR technology. Other North Carolina communities including Hillsborough, Pittsboro, Davidson County, and Macon County have similarly ended their Flock contracts. The Asheville vote remains complicated by the city's May approval of an Axon contract that includes 137 vehicle-mounted plate readers and a Real-Time Intelligence Center synchronizing multiple surveillance systems. Council member Kim Roney opposed the Axon proposal and introduced a failed motion for an ALPR moratorium at the August meeting. The APD will consult with an American Civil Liberties Union policy reviewer regarding future ALPR and surveillance technology decisions.

Readers can check their own municipal council records to see whether their city operates Flock or similar ALPR systems and what contracts or policies govern their use.

Read the original reporting: Carolina Public Press.