Flock declines to answer Bulletin questions
Bandera City Council member Jeff Flowers released a second public letter Friday, May 22 defending his earlier comments regarding the city’s canceled Flock Safety camera program, saying critics had mistaken satire for literal policy proposals and denying rumors of any financial connection to the vendor.
The letter follows Flowers’ May 13 statement, The Bandera Declaration of Digital Independence, released one day after the Bandera City Council voted 3-2 to terminate the city’s agreement with Flock Safety Systems, a license plate reader company.
Flowers and council member Lynn Palmer voted against ending the agreement.
The original statement drew local and national attention after proposing sweeping technology restrictions in response to the council vote, including bans on smartphones and GPS-enabled devices within city limits, prohibitions on residential and commercial outward-facing cameras and elimination of internet services and electronic recordkeeping in favor of paper systems.
In his Friday letter, Flowers said the earlier statement was intended as satire modeled after A Modest Proposal, the 1729 essay by Jonathan Swift that used exaggerated policy proposals to critique political positions.
Flowers said the proposals were meant to highlight what he described as contradictions in public opposition to license plate reader technology.
The letter also addressed criticism surrounding the debate, denied allegations that he received financial incentives tied to Flock and reiterated his position that ending the agreement created public safety and financial consequences for the city.
Flowers argued automated license plate readers are constitutional because there is no expectation of privacy on public roads and cited recent events in the Austin area as an example of why he believes the technology should remain available to law enforcement.
He also tied his position to broader state and national law enforcement priorities and urged residents to evaluate the issue through a public safety lens.
The Bulletin also contacted Flock Safety seeking responses to questions raised by community members.
Questions submitted to Holly Beilin, chief of staff to Flock’s chief from 1 customer officer, included whether the company would have accepted an extension on the invoice deadline while city officials continued deliberations, how Flock was initially introduced to Bandera, rumors circulating online regarding an alleged payout to Flowers, whether the company would reimburse grant funds following cancellation of the agreement and clarification on costs paid by the city.
FLOCK CAMERAS, CONTINUED
Flock declined to answer. “You'll have to work with Bandera PD or Council on this, these are not questions we can answer for the customer,” Beilin said in a statement provided to the Bulletin.
The Bulletin requested reconsideration on the first question regarding Flock’s billing policies but had not received a response as of publication.
The Bulletin also reached out to Mayor Denise Griffin and Interim City Administrator Jill Dickerson regarding rumors alleging a Flock payoff to Flowers.
Flowers responded publicly with the following letter: “To the Citizens of Bandera: “Last week, following the City Council’s 3-2 vote to terminate our fully funded state grant for public safety cameras, I published a piece utilizing a classic literary device known as a ‘Modest Proposal.’ It was a satirical mirror meant to highlight a glaring contradiction: the idea that we can demand absolute privacy on public roads while carrying GPS trackers in our pockets and pointing security cameras at our neighbors’ sidewalks.
“Predictably, the vocal minority and several national media outlets completely missed the satire. Instead, it triggered a wave of unhinged, anonymous cyber-bullying, vulgar insults and outright fabrications sent to my inbox. Local political cartoonists have even labeled my stance as ‘political suicide.’ This may be true for politicians that solely vote to get re-elected, but my core beliefs and how I vote on municipal issues are based on the long-term well-being of this community, not on whether I think I will get re-elected. I did not run for City Council to protect a title; I ran to protect Bandera.
“Let’s map out the cold, hard facts:
• Regarding the ‘Bribe’ Conspiracies: I have never received a single dollar, kickback or incentive from Flock Safety or any other technology vendor. To those hiding behind anonymous Proton Mail accounts sending me vulgar threats: your conspiracies are a fiction born out of an inability to debate real policy.
• The Fiscal Reality: The opposition campaigned on ‘fiscal responsibility.’ Here is the truth: the Flock system was 100% funded by a state grant. By canceling the contract, this council didn’t save you money, they threw away free state funds and spent $15,000 of local property tax dollars out-of-pocket to break the lease.
• The Public Safety and Constitutional Reality: This isn’t a theoretical debate, and it is entirely constitutional. The U.S. Supreme Court has long established there is no expectation of privacy for a vehicle traveling on a public road, a precedent federal and state courts repeatedly use to uphold fixed-location plate readers. Just days ago in Travis County, active shooters in a stolen vehicle terrorized neighborhoods. Austin couldn’t track them because their council previously caved to the same surveillance rhetoric now being heard in Bandera. The suspects were only caught after crossing into Manor, which uses this technology. “We live in a town that proudly aligns itself with core Texas values, frequently telling those with left-leaning ideas to move back to California. Yet when it comes to keeping our community safe, the vocal opposition is actively choosing to copy progressive Austin’s exact security failures.
“I fully support the lawand- order vision championed by President Trump and Governor Abbott — a vision built on robust policies designed to secure our communities and stop the fallout from failed liberal agendas.
“Turning our backs on state funding to keep our Town Marshal blind doesn’t protect the Constitution; it protects out-of-town criminals, human traffickers and abductors who use stolen vehicles to target our communities.
“As we enter Memorial Day weekend and honor the brave men and women who sacrificed everything for our freedom, let’s remember that true security requires active vigilance. It’s time for Bandera to look at the real numbers, look at the real threats and decide whether we actually stand for the law-and-order principles we vote for, or if we just like the slogan.
— Jeff Flowers, Bandera City Councilman” The Bulletin also has a pending public information request with the City of Bandera seeking all Flock-related emails from January through May 2026.
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