Access provisions remain under debate
VERMILION — City Council is working toward a revised proposal that would prohibit Vermilion from installing automated license plate readers while addressing concerns about police access to information collected by other agencies.
The proposal remained tabled following a Sept. 21 Legislative Committee discussion. Councilman Drew Werley, who introduced the ordinance, agreed to make additional changes before council considers it again Oct. 5.
Werley said he wants a formal prohibition in place even though the police department has no current plans to install the technology. He raised concern that future funding or a change in policy could allow cameras to be installed later if nothing is written into city law.
He also acknowledged concerns raised by other council members and the law director and said he was willing to make concessions to move the ordinance forward. Werley said he had already agreed to remove the first-degree misdemeanor provision and would incorporate additional changes discussed during the meeting.
Werley added that if the ordinance ultimately failed to pass council, he was prepared to pursue a citizen initiative to amend the city charter toward the same goal.
Council weighs narrower restrictions
Councilman John Gabriel said he supports preventing the city from purchasing, leasing, renting, installing or subscribing to license plate reader systems but does not want Vermilion officers prohibited from accessing data gathered elsewhere.
Gabriel proposed removing the word “access” from the ordinance, eliminating the criminal penalties and removing language that could affect outside agencies or participation in data sharing.
Councilman Greg Drew suggested council consider a simpler moratorium that would prevent the city from entering into an agreement for a license plate reader system rather than trying to amend the existing ordinance provision by provision.
Councilman Homer Taft also supported restrictions on private companies collecting vehicle information from public streets but said limited police use could be appropriate during active emergencies or investigations.
Taft discussed strict limits on data retention, including destroying locally collected information after seven days unless it was tied to a specified investigation or accessed under proper legal authority.
Gabriel said the proposed changes could preserve the central goal of preventing companies such as Flock Safety from operating fixed systems in Vermilion while still allowing police to use outside data during serious investigations.
Police cite investigative uses
Police Chief Scott Holmes said he has no current plans to install license plate readers in Vermilion and would not object to council prohibiting fixed cameras in the city.
His concern is preserving officers’ ability to use information collected by other agencies.
Holmes cited an Aug. 18 attempted armed robbery in Norwalk. He said Norwalk police alerted Vermilion after the suspect vehicle was detected by an Erie County Sheriff’s Office Flock camera near state Route 60 and state Route 2 heading north toward Vermilion.
Vermilion officers located the vehicle and detained two people, and a gun was found in the vehicle before Norwalk police took custody. Holmes said the case showed how outside license plate reader data can assist Vermilion officers.
Holmes also said the ordinance as written could create problems for outside agencies using mobile readers while traveling through the city. He said that went beyond what he understood council’s primary goal to be, preventing Vermilion from installing its own fixed system.
Council President Jeff Lucas suggested Werley return with a revised draft Oct. 5 rather than attempting to rewrite the ordinance during the meeting.
The ordinance remained tabled at the close of the Sept. 21 meeting.