Questions mount over $17k payment after public opposition
Tempers flared at May 12’s city council meeting, where three council members joined in a majority vote to cancel the city’s contract with the controversial Flock Safety Systems.
The 3-2 decision prompted applause from the packed room – but the enthusiasm was short lived after interim city administrator Jill Dickerson revealed that the $17,000 invoice to Flock had already been paid in March, just week and a half after the explosive Flock Town Hall on February 25.
“It was very clear how the citizens felt about the cameras [at the Town Hall],” said council member Debbie Breen. “Why didn’t we stop and not pay it? It says we can get out of the contract with Flock at any time. Why did you pay for the contract in March when there was obvious contention in February?”
In an email to the Bandera Bulletin, Dickerson justified the payment of the invoice by stating she had never been directed not to pay the invoice and the contracted payment was due by March 8.
However, Breen, along with council members Deanna McCabe and Tammy Morrow, had requested Flock Safety Cameras to be brought back to the council agenda after the February Town Hall.
The agenda item was not added by Dickerson until March 24 – a full month after the Town Hall and weeks after the invoice was paid.
Residents expressed frustration when the city council was forced to delay a decision during its March 24 meeting after City Attorney Matt Groves failed to bring the contract needed for discussion and possible action, despite the item being listed on the meeting agenda a week prior. Breen’s own frustration with Groves prompted a request for the city to seek new legal counsel.
“I don’t feel like we are a priority,” Breen said.
The delay extended to May 12 before Flock was brought back to the council for discussion. Council member Lynn Palmer demanded that the council hurry to a vote, stating that the discussion was “a waste of time”.
Palmer joined council member Jeff Flowers in a vote against terminating the contract, citing the Flock cameras as useful for local law enforcement. The majority vote – Breen, McCabe, and Morrow – carried, and the city successfully cancelled the contract with Flock Safety Cameras.
But residents expressed outrage and confusion over the $17,000 payment issued to Flock.
“We were lied to,” said Bandera County resident Jason Mayhew. “The Flock Representative [Kerry Mc-Cormack] and [council member] Jeff Flowers said over and over that it would cost the city nothing to cancel the contract, and that all expenses were being covered by a grant so there were no out of pocket cost.”
Mayhew went on to say that Flowers’ statement at a February council meeting — “if you don’t have anything to hide, it shouldn’t be a problem” — echoed the well-known sentiment often attributed to Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels: “If you have nothing to fear, you have nothing to hide.”
According to Dickerson, the Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention Authority Grant awarded the city $14,000 of the $17,000 contracted cost for five cameras, and that the language in the grant made it difficult to be used for something else aside from license plate readers.
But McCabe argued that the grant could have been allocated for other items.
“[The grant] also says funds could be used for education campaigns and whatnot,” she said, adding that the way the grant had been presented to council and the public had been “misleading”.
Palmer dismissed resident complaints as a reason to vote against Flock, stating that the majority at the Town Hall had been county residents.
“It doesn’t matter,” Breen said. “They come through our town.”
Residents took to Facebook to discuss Palmer’s agitated behavior during the meeting, with one user – Steve Talbert – writing “Wow! She just admitted the country residents don’t matter.”
Another user thanked the council for taking their time to vote, despite Palmer’s urge to rush.
“Thank you for not rushing the vote and allowing the discussion. It’s relevant to your constituents,” wrote Jana Camp Herrera.
The Bandera Bulletin reached out to Mayor Denise Griffin regarding her opinion on whether Flock should have been brought to the public for a vote. Griffin provided no comment.
The Bulletin has requested more information from the city regarding the financial cost of cancelling the contract with Flock.
.png)
