Plymouth Board of Public Works & Safety supports transfer to reinstate License Plate Readers

Monday, March 17, 2025 at 12:00 AM

By Kathy Bottorff

Last week members of the Plymouth Board of Public Works and Safety unanimously approved a motion of support for Police Chief John Weir's request to transfer money in his budget to reinstate the Flock Safety Camera System.

After recommending and getting approval for the purchase of six Ford Police Inceptors from Auto Park and purchasing a used Honda for the detective's bureau, the police chief told the Board of Public Works he saved money in this year’s budget. With those funds, he was seeking the board’s support for a transfer so he could reinstate the Flock Safety cameras, the all-in-one technology solution to eliminate crime and keep the community safe.

The Flock Solution is trusted by more than 3,700 communities across the country to help solve and deter crime and make communities safer for everyone. Flock helps law enforcement agencies multiply their force with License Plate Reader (LPR) cameras.

Chief Weir said he didn’t renew the LPR system last year because of a price increase and he didn’t understand the budget and how the process worked paying for the increase. He said the LPRs are case breakers.

The original price was $3,000 per camera, and with 5 cameras in the city, the cost was $15,000. The installation was $625 per camera, and they cut the installation cost in half because of the ordeal last year. The cost for this year would be $16,625 and next year the cost would be $15,000. This will be an annual recurring cost.

The new patrol vehicles are purchased from the equipment line item and the Flock System is in contractual services so the funds would need to be moved to purchase the LPRs.

After getting the board’s approval, the clerk-treasurer will prepare a resolution for the transfer that will be presented at the next city meeting on Monday, March 24^th.