Council votes 4-3 to keep Flock cameras

Select Board · Meeting of October 19, 2026

Wakefield's Town Council voted 4-3 against immediately canceling its Flock Safety license-plate camera contract, leaving the program active ahead of a citizen petition headed to town meeting. Police Chief Skorri told the council the department now shares data with only four Massachusetts agencies, down from a network that saw roughly 70,000 outside searches in June alone, and retains images for 15 days. Councillor Carney, who voted to cancel, said "I'm hearing about this now" regarding the 2024 camera rollout, while Councillor Fox said "I didn't even know we had flock cameras until August." Vice Chair Constance said the cameras are "less intrusive than the ways in which we are already being recorded in different ways today." Separately, the council set the fiscal 2027 tax rate at $12.42 per thousand for residential property and $23.62 for commercial, pushing the average single-family tax bill to $10,754, and heard a Department of Public Works briefing warning that trash and recycling collection could cost $3.1 million in fiscal 2028.

In the full story:

• Citations: Paul K. Guillo Co. and WCAT
• Executive Session
• Fiscal Year 2027 Tax Classification Hearing
• Public Comment on Flock Safety Cameras
• Flock Safety Camera Program Discussion and Vote
• Refuse and Recycling Contract Scenarios
• Town Meeting Warrant Articles: Recycling Carts, ADA Compliance, Easements and Land Disposition
• Routine Business
• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report: 3,141 words

Source: the Select Board meeting of October 19, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript.