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YOUNGSTOWN - The city is having a Nov. 17 public information session to answer questions the public has on the use of Flock Safety automatic license plate reader cameras.
The city will provide an overview of the use of the cameras and Youngstown police officers will be available to answer questions from residents. The event is from 6 to 7 p.m. Nov. 17 at the Eugenia Atkinson Recreational Center, 903 Otis St.
Mayor Derrick McDowell withdrew legislation that was to be in front of city council at its Oct. 21 meeting that sought to allow revenue collected from those caught by unstaffed cameras speeding in school zones to pay for half of the Flock Safety's annual bill. At the time, McDowell said he pulled the proposal to give citizens an opportunity to discuss the Flock cameras.
The city's entire $168,000 bill to Flock Safety is paid out of the police budget. The proposal would have had $84,000, half of it, come from speed camera revenue because city officials say about half of the Flock cameras in the city are in school zones.
That would have been retroactive to Sept. 1, the start of the final year of the current Flock Safety contract. The city has a three-year deal with Flock that expires Aug. 31, 2027.
The city has 56 Flock cameras.
Flock cameras have come under considerable national scrutiny with reports about police officers, including in Ohio, improperly using the data for personal reasons or sharing with federal agencies for immigration enforcement.
Critics also point to privacy issues, mass tracking of citizens, and the lack of transparency and public accountability.
Law enforcement officials say the Flock cameras are a vital tool in fighting crime and finding abducted children.
Nationally, more than 120,000 Flock cameras are installed in about 7,000 communities and take photos of about 20 billion vehicles each month.
There are about 400 entities in Ohio that use cameras, including several in the Mahoning Valley.
Flock doesn't just sell the cameras to law enforcement. It also sells them to school districts, universities, homeowner associations, parking lot/deck operators, apartment complexes, companies and stores.
State Sen. Al Cutrona, R-Canfield, introduced legislation on Sept. 14 to ensure information collected by Flock cameras is used appropriately.
The bill would prohibit any government entity collecting Flock camera data from sharing it with a third party or for personal use.
The bill wouldn't permit any government agency in the state that uses Flock cameras to share data with an outside party or for such an entity to solicit the data. Also, the data could only be saved in the system for up to 10 days before being automatically deleted.
Under Cutrona's bill, anyone caught using Flock cameras or its collected data for personal use - rather than as part of an active law enforcement case - could be charged with a fourth-degree felony, which is punishable by up to 18 months in prison and a $5,000 fine.
The bill was referred Sept. 30 to the Senate Armed Services, Veterans Affairs and Public Safety Committee. It hasn't had a hearing.
The state Legislature is in a lame-duck session so it has to pass by the end of the year or else be reintroduced next year.
Meanwhile, the city has struggled to spend the money it's collected from those paying citations for speeding in school zones and caught by unmanned cameras.
That is because of state restrictions on how the money can be spent with requirements that it be used in school zones.
The city collected $2,676,735 as of August from those cited for speeding in school zones by the unmanned cameras since they were installed in 2023.
The city keeps 65% of the money collected with the remaining 35% going to Blue Line Solutions, the Chattanooga, Tennessee, company that runs the speed camera program for Youngstown.
To date, the city has spent $261,397 from the speed camera fund - less than 10% of what it's collected. Most of that money, $184,384, paid for two annual maintenance agreements with SpotShotter, a company whose technology is able to detect and locate gunfire in real time. The law department in December 2024 determined that was a permissible use for the speed camera funds.
At council's Oct. 7 meeting, it agreed to appropriate $1.5 million from the speed camera fund for planning and construction engineering services as well as going out for bids for safety improvements to various school zones.
The scope of the work is undetermined.
But Charles Shasho, the city's deputy director of public works, said at the meeting that the focus would be around school zones to improve the safety of pedestrians and students through sidewalk repairs, handicapped ramps and pavement markings.
At that same Oct. 7 meeting, council agreed to sign a contract for up to $58,000 of speed camera money to buy 15 portable radios to be loaned to the Youngstown city schools for resource officers to have the ability to communicate directly with the city police department.
Cameras are in use on school days from the time kids head to class until 6 p.m. They aren't used on weekends, during the summer and on days when class is not in session.
During the two hours in the morning that kids go to school, and the two hours when they leave, the speed limit in those zones is 20 mph. In between and after school ends, the speed limit is 25 and 35 mph depending on the location.
Motorists caught going at least 11 mph over the speed limit and up to 14 mph over it face a civil penalty of $100. Those going 15 to 20 mph over the limit face a $125 penalty and those traveling faster than 20 mph over the limit face a $150 penalty. They do not get points on their driving record for the citations.
There is nothing the city can do to force people to pay the fees. Blue Line could turn over the unpaid citations to a collection agency, but that is highly unlikely.
The collection rate has been low - around 35% - for those issued citations.