Update: we made the news, and the county published new numbers.

Thank you — we’re at nearly 900 signatures from Kendall County residents and about 1,400 overall. KENS 5 covered this tonight. https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/kendall-county-residents-raise-privacy-concerns-over-flock-cameras/273-5c6fcd0e-5638-4898-b8b8-0ed45892e7c0 The story included what we’ve been asking for: a public hearing before the October 1 grant period begins. The Sheriff’s Office (through Flock’s website) has published a transparency portal, and I want to say plainly that this is a good thing. Most counties don’t. It lists their policies, usage numbers, and case examples. Some of those cases are serious — a child exploitation investigation, a stalking case involving a minor, stolen equipment and trailers recovered. Nobody signing this petition is arguing those outcomes don’t matter, and I won’t pretend otherwise. But the portal also gave us numbers worth sitting with: 382,374 unique vehicles detected in 30 days. Kendall County has about 47,000 people. 1,660 hotlist alerts in 30 days — roughly 20,000 a year. The portal features eight success stories. We still don’t know how many of those alerts led to an arrest, or how many were false hits on the wrong vehicle. 43 cameras deployed. The contract the county signed covers closer to 57 devices. We don’t know why the difference, or whether we’re paying for equipment that isn’t installed. And the portal still doesn’t say which outside agencies can search Kendall County data. That’s the question we’ve asked from the beginning, and it’s the one still unanswered. Their policy prohibits immigration enforcement and personal use — good. But in Mountain View, California, an internal audit found the system had been set to allow nationwide lookups contrary to that city’s own policy. Policy is a document. Sharing is a setting. We’d like to see the setting. What we’re asking for hasn’t changed, and it’s narrow. A posted public hearing before October 1, where residents get three minutes to be heard. Not a reversal from any commissioner. Not a fight with the Sheriff’s Office. A hearing. How to help — two things. Now: email your commissioner and ask for the hearing. Contact info for all five is on the county website. Short, civil, specific: a public hearing on the Flock program before the October 1 grant period. This is the part that works even if nobody shows up anywhere — a commissioner has to ask for an item to be placed on the agenda, and that happens because of email, not attendance. Soon: Commissioners Court meets the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays at 9:00 a.m., 201 E San Antonio Ave, Boerne. Tentatively, Tuesday, September 8 is the meeting to aim for — but agendas post the week before, and I want to point everyone at the right one rather than the wrong one. As soon as I know, I'll send the date. When that day comes, one detail matters more than any other: you must submit a Public Participation Form to the Judge's Court Coordinator by 8:00 a.m. that morning to speak. Miss it and you don't get the podium, no matter how early you arrive. I'll send the link with the confirmed date.