Following a contentious Feb. 18 town hall meeting over the city’s planned license plate reader camera system, Bandera City Council Member Jeff Flowers on Thursday, Feb. 19, released a public statement defending the program and emphasizing its intended role in public safety.
Flowers, who previously said during council discussion that “guilty people act defensively” and that license plate readers operate in public spaces where “privacy goes out the window,” said his latest remarks reflect his personal views and not the position of the full council.
“I want to be clear I’m sharing my personal perspective as a Bandera City Council member, not speaking for the full Council,” Flowers wrote.
The license plate reader program, approved by the council last year, is funded primarily through grant dollars and is now moving through early implementation phases. The city received $14,000 through a Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention Authority grant under Senate Bill 224 toward the approximately $17,000 project.
Flowers said renewed public scrutiny prompted the recent town hall meeting and acknowledged community concerns.
“The recent town hall was held because some community members have raised renewed concerns and questions, and I believe those deserve to be addressed directly and respectfully,” he wrote.
In his statement, Flowers argued the cameras are a practical tool for local law enforcement, citing Bandera’s position as a tourism destination and regional corridor.
“In my view, the reasons this tool matters are straightforward: Bandera isn’t just a small town, it’s a destination city,” Flowers wrote. “Our events bring heavy and unknown traffic into and through the city, and we sit along a regional corridor that can be exploited for criminal activity, including drug and human trafficking.”
He said the system can help officers identify vehicles connected to stolen vehicle reports, missing persons and law enforcement alerts.
“With limited staffing, law enforcement needs tools that improve response and investigative efficiency,” Flowers wrote. “LPRs help flag vehicles tied to serious public-safety concerns, like stolen vehicles, active BOLOs, and missing-person-related alerts, so officers can act quickly when it matters.”
Privacy concerns have been a central issue raised by residents who oppose the cameras. Flowers addressed those concerns directly, comparing license plate reader data to other types of personal information routinely collected.
“Most of us carry smartphones that generate location data, and we use banking, medical, insurance, and retail systems that store far more sensitive personal information,” he wrote.
Rather than abandoning the program, Flowers said the city should focus on establishing clear policies governing its use.
“If privacy is the concern, the answer isn’t to reject the tool, it’s to lean on the system’s built-in safeguards like limited 30-day retention and audit trails, and to have Council establish written local policies that clearly define who can access it, for what purposes, and what data-sharing limits apply in Bandera,” he wrote.
The city has planned installation of multiple license plate reader cameras at entrances to Bandera as part of the grant-funded initiative. The project has drawn both support and opposition, including public comment at recent council meetings and the Feb. 11 town hall.
Flowers closed his statement by reiterating his belief in the system’s value while acknowledging ongoing community debate.
“Blessings to you and yours,” he wrote.
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