Marathon County Public Safety Committee Meeting - 11/10/26

The Marathon County Public Safety Committee meeting was held November 10, 2026. The main procurement and budget discussion concerned the Sheriff’s Office Flock automated license plate reader (ALPR) program. The 2027 budget included $6,300 for continued program costs; the Human Resources, Finance and Property Committee had recommended moving that amount to its contingency fund, with possible release after further consideration of access, oversight, retention and reporting safeguards. The county board was expected to consider the budget amendment that evening; the Public Safety Committee took no action on it. The Sheriff’s Office reported eight cameras under its contracts—five originally funded through a 2022 Wisconsin Department of Justice grant and three through a 2024 grant—and two additional cameras paid for by the Village of Rib Mountain. The first county contract expires July 26, 2027, and the second March 25, 2029; early termination costs $500 per camera. The Sheriff said there were no plans to expand the program and that the county does not ordinarily submit individual operational contracts to the board for approval.

Members and public speakers debated the cameras’ public-safety benefits and privacy, data-sharing and oversight risks. The Sheriff acknowledged that county data is in Flock products, disputed some interpretations of the contract’s data-retention terms, and said the office was reviewing its list of external agencies with access and developing a process to audit their searches. The discussion raised possible future policy work but produced no decision to renew, terminate or restrict the contracts. The committee also received an overview of the Sheriff’s Office drone program; the Sheriff said existing department budgets fund its equipment and operations, with no additional funding request identified.