(Valley News Live) – The Horace City Council voted 3-1 Monday night to remove Flock Safety cameras from the city, following a debate over privacy and oversight concerns.
Councilmember Chad Chalmers brought the issue to the council for discussion, saying he had reservations about how the surveillance system is typically presented to cities.
“It seems like with Flock Cameras, typically when they’re being presented, just the pros are being considered and not the cons,” Chalmers said.
The cameras are provided to Horace at no cost through a county grant, but Chalmers said that didn’t ease his concerns.
“I just don’t feel comfortable having them in the city anymore, and that’s why I’m bringing it up for discussion,” he said.
Chalmers also raised questions about long-term oversight of the camera system, addressing Cass County Sheriff Jesse Jahner directly during the meeting.
“You’re the Sheriff now, the Sheriff in four years, five years, six years, who knows, with changing demographics, we don’t know who’s going to be in control of the system,” Chalmers said.
Other council members voiced concerns about how footage and data collected by the cameras are stored and who has access to it.
Jahner defended his department’s handling of the technology, pointing to internal accountability measures.
“I do hope that people would trust me as the Cass County Sheriff, the track record, the transparency and openness that we’ve had that if we had a deputy that misuses it, that they would be held accountable for it. We have policies in place for that,” Jahner said.
Multiple residents weighed in during the public comment period. Some said the cameras had caused concerns, while others said the technology had helped investigators solve cases.
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