Tell the council before the November budget vote
Alders pay attention to short, polite notes from people in their own district, especially before a budget vote.
Write your alder
The city’s website lists the alder for each district and how to reach them. There’s a note below to start from. It works better if you add your own reason.
City of Wausau: Council Alderpersons
To see which cameras are in your alder’s district, check the list by district.
Speak at a meeting
The Common Council voted 9 to 1 on October 27 to have police stop using Flock data and cover the cameras, Public Works covered them on November 9, and on November 10 the council adopted the 2027 budget without the $50,000 Flock payment. What happened One thing is left: the city still has to send Flock written notice to end the contract, by Sunday, November 15. The next council meeting is Tuesday, November 24, at 6:30 p.m., in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 407 Grant Street. Two minutes is plenty. Say where you live, thank the council, ask it to confirm that notice went out under Section 11.16, and give one reason.
If you’d rather not speak, come anyway. A full room tells the alders that residents are paying attention.
One thing to ask for: a written opinion from the city attorney on Section 11.16, which budget year the next invoice is charged to, and when notice has to go out so that nothing more is owed. She was at the October 6 budget session, and no one asked her. We’ve sent the council 22 questions for the city attorney, and you can ask your alder to send them to her in writing.
Look up your own plate
The Wausau Pilot & Review’s Watch Ledger lets you check your own plate against published search logs. It also shows which agencies can search Wausau’s cameras.
Please leave the cameras alone. Social media posts are calling for people to cover or damage Flock cameras on Halloween. That campaign isn’t ours, and we oppose it. Damaging a camera is a crime and gives the program’s supporters an easy argument. The way to end the contract is a council vote. Our statement
A note to start from
Dear Alder [last name], I live at [your address], in your district. Thank you for the council's vote to cover the Flock cameras, and for taking the $50,000 Flock payment out of the 2027 budget. Please keep the money out when the council adopts the budget, and leave the final payment out of the 2028 budget too. Please also ask the city attorney for a written opinion, and have the city send notice of termination under Section 11.16 of the contract by November 15. That section lets the city end the contract on 30 days' written notice "without penalty or other cost." [One or two sentences, in your own words, about why this matters to you.] I'd also like the council to require a public hearing and a vote before the city buys surveillance technology in the future. Thank you, [Your name]
If you’re not sure what to put in the middle, here are some reasons you could mention:
- The contract lets Flock keep and use “anonymized” data from Wausau’s cameras in its other products, with no time limit. What the contract says
- About 200 Wisconsin agencies can search the cameras, and the audit looks at 10 searches every six months. Who can search
- The police chief says none of the cameras are in a neighborhood, but 15 of the 20 mapped cameras have a house within 300 feet. The map
- Flock’s newer contracts are worse for the city, so waiting for a better deal doesn’t help. The two contracts compared
- The research doesn’t show plate readers reducing crime. The evidence
- Other Wisconsin communities have already left. Who has left
- $50,000 a year could go to something with better evidence behind it. Alternatives
When to show up
Both budgets passed on November 10. These are the next meetings to watch.
City of Wausau
- Monday, November 16, 5:15 p.m.Public Health and Safety Committee, Council Chambers. Nothing on Flock is posted yet; watch for the termination notice or a surveillance technology ordinance. Agenda
- November 24 and December 8, 6:30 p.m.Common Council. No agendas yet. Ask whether notice under Section 11.16 has gone out.
Marathon County
- Tuesday, November 10The County Board voted 30 to 5 to hold the $6,300 in contingency until there are rules on sharing, access, audits, and retention. A motion to cut it outright failed 17 to 18.
- By June 26, 2027Notice of non-renewal for the first five cameras has to arrive at least 30 days before their term ends on July 26, 2027, the Pilot reports. The sheriff said November 10 that no notice has been sent.
Marathon County: the sheriff’s cameras are next
The Marathon County Sheriff’s Office runs 10 Flock cameras of its own, and they share with about 1,580 organizations in roughly 40 states. The County Board voted 30 to 5 on November 10 to hold the $6,300 that keeps them running in contingency until there are rules on sharing, access, audits, and retention. Now the work is making sure those rules get written. Supervisors hear from very few residents, so a short note carries weight. What we’re asking the county · See one car among 464,012
Write your supervisor
The board has 38 supervisors, one per district. The county’s County Board page has a link to find yours and how to reach them. There’s a note below to start from.
Speak at a county meeting
County Board and committee meetings open with public comment on items on the agenda. Watch the county calendar for the Public Safety Committee and any item on Flock rules or the $6,300. To speak, email the County Clerk at countyclerk@marathoncounty.gov before the meeting, or call 715-261-1500. Keep it to two or three sentences: where you live, what you’re asking for, and one reason.
What happens to the $6,300
It’s held in contingency, not cut. Before it’s released, the board should see written rules on sharing, access, audits, and retention, and the county should send notice of non-renewal for the first five cameras well before June 26, 2027.
A note to start from
Dear Supervisor [last name], I live at [your address], in your district. Thank you for the board's vote on November 10 to hold the $6,300 for the Sheriff's Office Flock cameras in contingency. Please keep it there until sharing is narrowed, access is limited, audits are required, and retention is shortened, and please ask the county to send Flock notice of non-renewal for the first five cameras now, so the county keeps its options open. The sheriff's own transparency portal lists about 1,580 organizations in roughly 40 states that can search the county's data, and county policy says only that audits "may" happen. [One or two sentences, in your own words, about why this matters to you.] I'd also like the board to require a public hearing and a vote before the county accepts a surveillance grant or signs a contract like this one. Thank you, [Your name]
Reasons you could mention:
- The sheriff told the board the data “does not leave Marathon County.” His own portal lists organizations in roughly 40 states. What the record shows
- Audits are optional under county policy, and the office has turned down requests for its audit reports. What we’re asking
- The FBI’s data show no measurable effect on crime in the county. What the cameras have done
- The county can end the first five cameras for about $4,000 at most, and notice of non-renewal costs nothing. The contract
Let us know you wrote, or that you can help
If you wrote your alder, plan to speak, or have a question or a correction, tell us here. Your note goes to the people organizing this.
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