At a glance
- Status
- Strongly supported documented transparency/oversight concern
- Participants
- Police Chief Amy Bonney; Interim City Manager Tyler Goodman
- Decision
- Defer Council study session until after the 60-day trial
- Contract executed
- March 3, 2023 (before installation)
- Deferral exchange
- March 6–7, 2023
- Council study-session record
- January 27, 2026 (per the supplied Council file)
- Conclusion strength
- Documented concern — not a proven legal violation
Key quotations
“It has not come to study session and we definitely would prefer that it not, at least not initially.”
View original record(06_Police_Department_Communications.pdf, PDF p. 45)
“after the trial phase (60 days from date of installation and training).”
View original record(06_Police_Department_Communications.pdf, PDF p. 45)
“That makes sense and I think bringing it forward to a study after the trail [sic] period makes sense.”
View original record(06_Police_Department_Communications.pdf, PDF p. 46)
Timeline
February 27, 2023
Bonney tells the mayor the planned demo and hoped-for contract would cover major ingress/egress routes and says she expects “great success.”
View original record(06_Police_Department_Communications.pdf, PDF p. 43)
March 3, 2023
City Contract No. 2023-151 is executed for $48,100 — before physical installation.
View original record(01_Contracts_and_Amendments.pdf, PDF pp. 10–12)
March 6, 2023
Goodman asks whether the program has come to a study session and notes the mayor wants “to make the public aware of this at some point.” Bonney replies that it has not, and “we definitely would prefer that it not, at least not initially,” recommending a presentation only after the trial produces “success stories.”
View original record(06_Police_Department_Communications.pdf, PDF pp. 44–46)
March 7, 2023
Goodman agrees that bringing it to a study session after the trial period “makes sense.” Bonney says she will let him know when the trial is complete so they can schedule it.
View original record(06_Police_Department_Communications.pdf, PDF p. 46)
June 14–16, 2023
Installation records show a technician onsite, with Flock reporting all but three locations installed by June 16.
View original record(10_Installation_and_Maintenance_2023.pdf, June 2023 installation thread)
January 27, 2026
The supplied Council file documents an ALPR study session.
View original record(05_City_Council_and_Government_Approval.pdf, PDF pp. 16–20)
Issues & possible violations
How to read the labels
- Documented fact
- Directly stated or shown in a primary record.
- Supported inference
- A conclusion reasonably supported by multiple records.
- Unresolved
- Requires missing records, audit work, or legal interpretation.
- Not established
- An allegation the available evidence does not prove.
Evidence: The $48,100 contract was executed on March 3, 2023; the study-session deferral was discussed March 6–7, 2023 — after execution but before physical installation.
Argument: The sequence put contractual and operational commitment ahead of any Council study session, reducing the practical opportunity for elected officials and the public to weigh in before the City was committed.
Status: Documented from the contract and email dates.
Original evidence: View original record(01_Contracts_and_Amendments.pdf, PDF pp. 10–12) View original record(06_Police_Department_Communications.pdf, PDF p. 45)
“It has not come to study session and we definitely would prefer that it not, at least not initially.”
Argument: The chief recommended that the program not come to a Council study session initially, deferring it until “after the trial phase (60 days from date of installation and training).” She cited concern about people learning camera locations and about “conspiracy theorist” opposition.
Status: The recommendation and its stated reasons are documented. The records do not establish that a study session was legally required.
Original evidence: View original record(06_Police_Department_Communications.pdf, PDF p. 45)
Evidence: Bonney recommended presenting the program only after the trial so the department would have “some success stories to share.”
Argument: Timing public consideration to follow favorable anecdotes gives officials a narrative advantage: discussion begins after institutional commitment and with selected success stories already assembled. This is a governance/transparency concern about framing, not a claim of illegality.
Status: Supported by the chief’s own stated rationale.
Original evidence: View original record(06_Police_Department_Communications.pdf, PDF p. 45)
“That makes sense and I think bringing it forward to a study after the trail [sic] period makes sense.”
Argument: The interim city manager agreed with deferring the study session until after the trial, making the deferral a decision endorsed above the department level.
Status: Documented in the reply email.
Original evidence: View original record(06_Police_Department_Communications.pdf, PDF p. 46)
Public-notice research log
Search scope. The public records supplied to the project to date: the compiled contract file (01_Contracts_and_Amendments.pdf), Police Department communications (06_Police_Department_Communications.pdf), the City Council & government-approval file (05_City_Council_and_Government_Approval.pdf), and installation & maintenance records (10_Installation_and_Maintenance_2023.pdf). We have not independently searched the City’s full public archive of Council agendas, minutes, packets, notices, newsletters, or meeting recordings for January 2022 – January 2026.
Search date: July 2026
| Date | Type | Body / office | Item | Flock/ALPR | Public? | Action | Source | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 27, 2023 | Staff email (mayoral briefing) | Police Chief → Mayor | Flock trial, hoped-for contract, camera-coverage concept | Named | No | Private briefing; no public action | View original record(06_Police_Department_Communications.pdf, PDF p. 43) | Not a public event. |
| Mar 3, 2023 | Contract execution | City of Prescott / Police | Contract No. 2023-151 ($48,100) | Named | No | Contract executed | View original record(01_Contracts_and_Amendments.pdf, PDF pp. 10–12) | Administrative execution, not a Council item in the records searched. |
| Mar 6–7, 2023 | Staff email (deferral decision) | Police Chief / Interim City Manager | Whether/when to hold a study session | Named | No | Study session deferred until after the 60-day trial | View original record(06_Police_Department_Communications.pdf, PDF p. 45) | — |
| Jun 14–16, 2023 | Installation records | City of Prescott / Flock | Camera installation thread | Named | No | Installation underway; most locations installed by Jun 16 | View original record(10_Installation_and_Maintenance_2023.pdf, June 2023 thread) | Source PDF pending (issue #38); page locator to be confirmed. |
| Jan 27, 2026 | Council study session | Prescott City Council | ALPR presentation / study session | Named | Yes | Study-session discussion (per the supplied Council file) | View original record(05_City_Council_and_Government_Approval.pdf, PDF pp. 16–20) | Source PDF pending public posting (issue #38). |
Records still to be requested
To close the gap above, request for January 2022 – January 2026:
- All Council agendas, minutes, packets, presentations, recordings, and public notices concerning Flock or ALPR from January 2022 through January 2026.
- Communications scheduling, postponing, preparing, or canceling an ALPR Council presentation or study session.
- The promised notification after completion of the 60-day trial.
- Documents identifying the trial start/end dates and the installation/training completion date.
- Any “success stories” or metrics assembled for a contemplated presentation.
- Records explaining why a 2023 presentation did or did not occur.
- Budget hearings or capital-request presentations where the recurring Flock expense appeared, and whether Flock/ALPR was named or embedded in a broader line item.
Evidence
Download exhibits (selected excerpts, PDF) — a page-accurate packet of the cited pages, not the complete source files.
Every quotation and material claim above links to the exact page of the full original public record. The complete source documents:
- 01_Contracts_and_Amendments.pdf — PDF, 224 pages · record detail & provenance
- 06_Police_Department_Communications.pdf — PDF, 121 pages · record detail & provenance
- 05_City_Council_and_Government_Approval.pdf — PDF, 126 pages · record detail & provenance
- 10_Installation_and_Maintenance_2023.pdf — PDF, 1406 pages · record detail & provenance