public comment on agenda items
What the county recorded
This item is not from the published agenda
This archive found it in the recording: a call to order, a recess, or business the board never listed. The county recorded nothing about it, so everything below is our reading.
The source document
The county’s agenda for Board of County Commissioners, Aug 25, 2026
The published PDF, as served by the county. This item is one entry in it.
What was said
Machine transcription of 1h 46m of recording, with speaker names inferred from voice matching. 0% of 339 lines carry a name. It shows what was said, not what was decided, and both the words and the names can be wrong.
Here. This is time for public comment. Citizens are given an opportunity to comment on items listed on the agenda by participating in a Microsoft Teams meeting during the meeting or attending in person.
Um the process is on the public comments page and must be pr completed to be uh present. This is made also comment items listed on the agenda in person inside the boardroom. Board will take public comment items on the agenda. It's requested when you address the board their comments and not directly personally at a commission commissioner or team member, but rather directed at the issues. This provides a mutual respect between the board members and the public. And we have uh quite a list of people signed up? Yes
we do.
Okay. Let's say do let's say list them up three at a time, please.
Okay. The first three, Holly Sexton, Jay, Pascoal. William Lawless.
Hello, I have documents that I'd like entered into public record, please.
All in favor say hi.
Please state your name and address.
Holly Sexton, 13811, Melanie Avenue, Hudson, Florida. Thank you.
Again, my name is Holly Sexton. I live in Hudson. Our local water utility company. is a risk for our public health and safety. I have found in my research that they're falsifying documents on their utility breaks. And not reporting to the FDEP. FDEP only had one report to show me and to talk about. Out of forty eight utility breaks. I'd ask
that Pasco County step in to oversee this utility. This isn't just a matter of inconvenience of the water being shut off at this point. It is a matter of public health and safety. It is an emergency.
Pasco County is a great community. We pay a lot to live in Hudson. Having the oversight of the county. would give a little comfort to our residents in Hudson. Hudson residents shouldn't have to feel Like they should privately test their own water. To see if they can drink it. I've heard from more residents in the last month and a half. who don't drink our water. Because they're scared. They're scared of our utility company. Our utility company isn't following
best practice. They're not doing the repairs to best practice. They're consistently saying that our water is at twenty psi during a break. When our water is at zero. No pressure. That's gonna get somebody really sick if it hasn't already. We have no shutoff valves in Hudson, so that they can isolate their issues. So when there is a water break, they shut off the whole community. That's restaurants, a medical building. A
school. condos with eight stories, and numerous homes. This isn't something that's just inconvenient.
They're not following protocol on best practice. C Ranch is roughly twenty hundred feet long. Best practice, they should have a shutoff valve every five to six hundred feet. I don't know why we don't. But we need them. I don't see any repairs taking place that are proactive, only reactive. We need some proactive management. and some trustworthy sampling of our water
system. I'd please ask that Pasco County look in for some oversight. Thank you.
Thank you.
Next is Jay Pascoa, behind him please is William Wallace. Please state your name and address for the record.
Jay Pascoid, Second Isle Hudson, Florida. I first want to thank Commissioner Yeager for her work in Moon Lake. I also want to thank uh Commissioner Mariano for his constant communications with our developments and everything that's going on in the waterfront community. But I wanted to speak about a couple of things, and I know I only have two and a half minutes, so I'll do the best I can. There's a lot of things that are not communicated with citizens of this county. There's a lot of things we don't understand, and I'll start with the
first one, which is item P44, 1001, docks and seawalls. We're obviously making a change here to something. There's nothing there that's telling me what we're doing. So I'm trying to find out what's going on with that. Also on your agenda, you have $443,000 for odor control. I'm kinda confused to what that's for. There's no explanation for it. The last item I want to talk about is flock cameras. I'm sick of Big Brother. I'm
sick of people watching us. I'm sick of people invading our privacy. I'm sick of people looking and trying to find out where we go. There's a lot of things that go on. I understand there's some safety issues involved and I'm not totally against it. But the fact of the matter is is that they're being put in places you don't need to know how many times I go to Walmart or Home Depot. Speaking of Home Depot, Home Depot now has four cameras. that face their stores that the taxpayers are paying for. I don't understand that. Not at all. In
addition, the Internet is killing it. There is nothing but reports about law enforcement officers that are abusing it. one being recently in Lake County. He accessed the cameras seven hundred and seventeen times to find his ex girlfriend. This goes on and on and on and on. No one is coming forward to discuss the privacy. No one is coming forward to say, hey, this is what we're doing to protect your privacy. So as for flock
cameras, I know you're going to Axon. I know there was a hot debate about it last time. I know they're changing over to Axon. But there's got to be some kind of justification to why you're watching the citizens of this county. Yes, it helps law enforcement and I agree. But where's the privacy in this?
There's a lot of things going on, especially with now in in 2027, they're requiring cars to have cameras in them. So between your phone, your car and I understand get rid of your phone or your car, that's not gonna happen. But there's a lot of tracking going on. The Biden administration, unfortunately, wrote a 2,700-page report on how they want to monitor cars. How much information about citizens do you need?
And and with my last twenty seconds, thank you for raising my taxes three hundred dollars. I didn't really need that on my properties. And with that, you should put probably an oversight committee together with citizens to overlook this flock situation. I support it in some, but in a lot of ways I don't. Thank you for your time, but I urge you to communicate with your citizens. Thank you.
Next William Lawless
Good morning. William Lawless, 4319 Rutherway, New Port Richey, Florida. Uh you know that I'm a fifty year resident of this county. 32 years in law enforcement in this county, uh former FOP president and current FOP labor rep for the Tampa Bay Area. Chairman and members of the County Commission, thank you for this opportunity to speak today regarding the continued use of what I'll call roadway monitoring cameras because there's a variety
of different brands that go on for flock cameras, Exxon and and so forth. So The issue ultimately is about public safety and whether the use of roadway monitoring systems, commonly known as flock cameras, are functional. They provide an asset to this county, an asset to the Sheriff's Office, and public safety in this community. This issue is ultimately about public safety and whether we will continue giving enforcement
a proven tool that's helping to protect citizens of this county. Those cameras have produced real results. The Pasco Sheriff's Office has used these monitoring cameras to solve homicide cases, locate missing adults and children, identify human trafficking victims, and a variety of crimes and sprees throughout our community. These aren't hypothetical benefits. These are real actual public safety results. Those
aren't the I'm sorry. When a child goes missing, minutes matter. Uh you know, when a homicide occurs, evidence is destroyed quickly and again, minutes, hours matter.
But the possibility that tool could be misused, as was described previously, Uh Should not be a reason to eliminate a valuable tool to law enforcement. Consider what happens without it. Imagine telling a parent of a missing child that deputies had the technology at one time to locate that child quickly and rapidly, but that it that particular tool was taken away. Uh the choice should not be between constitutional rights and public safety. We can easily
protect both. We can maintain strong oversight and accountability which the Sheriff's Office does have. The the evidence from PASCO demonstrates why these cameras matter. The crimes they've solved, the missing people they've located is all well documented. This is not hypothetical uh data. And behind every one of those successful cases is a victim, a family, and member of this community. I respectfully ask the commission to continue supporting the Pasco County Sheriff's
Office and Roadway Monitoring. In regards to your privacy, uh the US Constitution protects our privacy and I'm a firm believer, I'm not a believer in Big Brother, nor am I a believer in anybody taking those privacies away. But the safeguards this agency has have proven that there's n not been a violation of any type. I appreciate your time. Thank you.
I'm gonna call the next three, Tom Smikes, Nathaniel Pauli, Daniel Forrester. Please come to the podium.
Good morning. My name is Tom Smyers. I live at 10315 Armadillo Court, Newport Ritchie, 34654. I live in an ER estate residential subdivision. I'm back again to discuss the need to change ordinance 530-16 to be rewritten in order to safeguard what an ER estate residential subdivision is. I currently live next to a commercial, semi-restoration and
repair shop. Which has been operating for two and a half years. Code cannot police this, and I will explain why. The building is at the back of the property with privacy fence, so it's difficult to see. Now he has planted bamboo. all along my property line, so in time Code will not be able to view activity W from my ho from my property or from Lakeview Drive? According to Pasco
County Attorney. he can have as many commercial vehicles as he can fit inside the building which is thirty two hundred square feet.
Yeah. if he tucks and hides them outside and shields them, w shields them by the building he can he can have even more. We have semis coming and going, moving inside, outside, for service. Semis left running for thirty minutes, all forty foot from my house. The noise is unbearable. Pasco County cannot get a search warrant because this is a homesteaded property. Code
cannot go on the property without the owner's permission. Code is not nine one one. Sometimes it takes them days to investigate a a complaint. They don't work nights or weekends. A mobile mechanic can come over and work on the owner's semi. This is to the opinion of the Pasco County Attorney. So how do we know whose semi he is working on? or who it belongs to. because Code
cannot ask for vehicle registrations. With this ordinance allowing e uh any commercial vehicle to be parked or stored, how is this not considered a dispatch? uh location for a trucking company. Run out of a residential Neighborhood. or a storage facility for all the his friends' semis which come for routine service and maintenance, which he currently provides. Besides
uh this is what's happening. We're not going to be able to do We we have the same semis coming and going and different ones coming in for service. My neighbor isn't b my neighbor hasn't been on the road trucking for over two years. Why would he? He's got a very busy r r semi repair, restoration business, and storage facility. All all this within forty foot of my house. This is unacceptable. Thank you.
Mr. Syers, you did hand our clerks a document. We need a motion. I'm sorry.
Move to receive and five. Second.
All in favor say aye. Aye. If you would, David Allen's right here. I know Sam Bondy's on his way down and I think Chase in the back maybe showed them the the l latest information. Thank
you.
Thank
you
everybody.
And I I'd like an update on on it. Not from staff at some point.
Nathaniel Polly?
My name is Nathaniel Pauley. I live at 2 through 38 Chancery Drive Holiday, Florida. Before I even start, I want to thank Catherine Starkey who's been working on this issue already, and I really do appreciate that. So I know that progress being made, but I want everyone to know what's going on. My wife and I run a school in Holiday. We've been operating for 11 years, and our goal has always been to give kids that opportunities that we didn't have growing up here. Our school offers college prep, AP courses, dual enrollment, college testing, as well as Technical education. We've got an automotive program affiliated with Ford Motor Company. We do boat repair, woodworking, electrical wiring, culinary
arts, 3D printing. We also have music and painting courses. We offer sports, and when people can't afford them, we cover the costs. We know what it's like growing up without money for those things. And we accept ELC, which is a huge hurdle. So low-income kids can do our marine science program. Last year, one of our teachers volunteered his own time to start a kickboxing program for our students. He coached us professionally in a local gym and knew most of our kids couldn't afford that and had parents working late and weren't able to get there. We thought this would be a good opportunity for our kids, and we had an unused building. We put money into it. We installed martial arts flooring, wall padding,
we installed punching bags, we treated the interior with flame retardant paint. Our fire inspector looked at the building and told us he didn't see any significant risks of children being injured in a fire, but we We were told that the building did not have the proper use classification code to operate for the three hours a week we were using it. So we shut the program down. He called to make sure we disassemble the floor mats and took the bags down. This takes in my current situation. Right next to my school, I have a drug encampment. About a year ago, a neighboring property started inviting homeless people in the area to come live in his yard. There were roughly 30 people there living under tarps with trash piled everywhere. We had drugged out
people wandering around parents' vehicles during school drop off. We had people defecating in the bushes next to the fifth third bank. We had people using drugs in the bushes nearby. Pit bulb from the property that's always loose, dug underneath our playground fence, and was running around. Luckily no kids are on the playground. Um there's trash being burned in a barrel with smoke blowing over our playground. Um there was a hooker who broke into a local trailer next door to flip tricks. Um I mean and I'm sorry even saying this, I feel like even bringing attention to this issue harms holiday, which is not my intent. Um We spent months calling, reporting, documenting, trying
to get the situation addressed. Eventually the property was demolished and the land was cleared. We were very grateful again, Catherine Starkey helped with that. But now the property owner has a return, and the same people and the same problems are beginning to return with them. I've got drugs, crap, dogs loose, and what sure looks like hookers. Things that kids should not be around. This shouldn't be a thing in holiday. My wife had three brothers. All three of her brothers are dead, all three overdosed. We are currently Raising her fourteen and fifteen year old niece and nephew, along with our own three-year-old and a six-week old. I want my community to improve. It's why we're running a school on holiday. We grew up here. Sometimes
it feels like the people trying to build something positive are the ones who are being asked to jump through the most hoops, while the people destroying the community are given a pass. We wanted to provide martial arts for training for kids. We couldn't do it. They want to live in tents, do drugs and crap in the bushes. They are doing it. We have a building where we wanted to remove an obvious partition wall and a place where we wanted to put a door back where one had been removed in the past. I was told that Pasco had lost the original drawings for the building. We were told we would need to have an architect recreate them. I got a rough quote of $20,000 before I could start a permit process. For a small business and holiday, it's a significant cost
to make relatively simple improvements, so it just didn't happen. I'm sorry guys, I got zero seconds. We wanted to demolish and replace an old trailer home on our property with a metal building to expand our technical programs. We've hit similar issues. I understand why regulations exist. I'm not asking to eliminate safety regulations. In Holiday, it'd be great if I could have someone help me recover building records when they've been lost. Even for modest renovations that don't change the fundamental safety characters of the building, it would be great to be able to get help doing those.
Also, um if you we are just starting a small business concierge service. So if you also if David Ingall's here and would like to help this small Business owner, that would be great. Thank you.
I just want to invest in the area. Thank you for the great work you're doing.
Thank you.
Daniel Forrester.
Frida Forrester after that. That is and Kevin Nichols Glazier after that.
Do we have a mic we can give the shot?
Daniel Forrester, one three, three one. Pardon?
Chair moved or Stephen File. Second.
All in favor say aye. Aye aye. Aye.
Daniel Forrester, one three three one eight Starfish Drive, Hudson, Florida. Today I'd like to speak to you.
It's not gonna speak into it though.
Daniel Forrester 13318 Starface Drive, Hudson, Florida. Uh today I'd like to speak to you about a a a topic that's countywide certainly, but I'm speaking to my little neighborhood. Which is uh North of uh Salt Springs State Park and West uh west of US nineteen. The canal region over there, we are totally overcome. with feral cats. And this problem is only
going to get worse. And I feel it's very important to bring it to the board's attention. Where did the cats come from? Hurricane displacement. I think New Port Richey ducks, we got the cats. And then also Salt Springs State Park, if you flip the page to your first handout. That's the uh uh Uh Fish and wildlife conservation. Policy where they do not support trap neuter release and they will not allow any feral
cats on state property. It's because of all the damage to their wildlife. That damage occurs elsewhere. But that's not my concern. My concern is safety. I just got released from Tampa Hospital. ten da with Yet another Uh Recurring leg injury. And as you can see If if I got a even a cat attempted to scratch me, I have no defense. Uh if you flip the page Here's
the important thing. This is our State. uh Floridahealth.gov website. Outside cats are by far the most common domestic animal found to have rabies in Florida, largely because they are not kept up to date on rabies vaccinations. Dogs, cats, and ferrets are required by law to be vaccinated against rabies in Florida. And then it goes on to describe rabies. Uh if you flip
the page again
When I roll my wheelchair out, starfish drive and try to turn down Saltwater Boulevard. past all the abandoned trailers that are still waiting to be piled and ploughed out. This is what I see. And I feel a personal danger. And I I would ask the board Two. The these cats are being fed by people have who have no idea all they're doing is prolonging the death.
They've been trappers in that area at least twice in the last year. It's not helped. So the cats are tail roaming. Freely, if you flip the next page. Here's where we're in trouble. This is directly from the From the uh uh animal services. Uh an email. Hello, the Fed Clinics do not license Straight Cats, nor do the Fed Clinics or the County Follow up with future vaccinations
for stray cats.
We're in trouble here. I just get a look at it.
Thank you. Do we have anyone here from Animal Control?
Okay, Kathy. Thank you, Kathy.
Frida Forrester.
My name is Frida Forrester. I live at 13318 Starfish Drive, Hudson. And I have some documents here too.
Move
the
receiving file. Second. All in favor say aye. Aye. Aye.
Well I'm here for this I'm here for the same reason that my husband is and a lot of uh other neighbors who still live in our little community. And um we have a neighbor right across the street. who um at one time he claims he has eleven cats. There could be more now. but they're a constant in our neighborhood. He has his own sign to make sure nobody touches his cats, but yet I see him every day He feeds the
cats healthy. uh meals underneath his RV as you can see there in the little corner um by his house and then he lets them go run through the neighborhood and defecate all over his neighbor's properties and we are forced to have to clean that up. There's blowflies on it constantly. I even got bit by a blowfly when I was cleaning up. So animal control and said well use cat deterrence which we've done that it helps
a little bit but it does not get rid of the cats they're still there and we just keep putting up with this. I talked to the guy that has this colony of cats and he didn't even seem concerned. He said, Well, he said, I know what you mean. If that were happening to me I'd be upset too. and that's all he said, but the cat's still wrong. And he still feeds them. They're not out there killing insects and lizards. They're they're doing what they want to do. I clean it up. You can't
even be out in your own backyard without smelling it. It's just horrible. And all of our neighbors are going through it. And as you can see, if you turn the pages, this is what I have to deal with. They poop all over the flower garden. They poop under my uh tomato plants. And then at one point now I I had to write this in the on the third page, there's cat vomit in my driveway. I I took the picture after the fact, but I saw it happen, you know,
in my front yard and I went back and took the picture. If a cat's vomiting in your driveway, it can't be very healthy. And then my last photo I have is from a ring camera. This was two nights ago. at ten thirty at night on the twenty third, two cats roaming in the driveway. They lounge there, they take over. You can't go outside for the odor. You have to continually clean. and it's not healthy and it's very stressful. So, you know. I I know you guys can't just change laws,
but But if it could be illegal for people to keep feeding these cats. I mean, they keep 'em going and then they're there and they're always a problem. So Move. I'm thr that's my deal for today. Now thank you for hearing me.
Alright, so Kathy Pierce in the back talk with your husband, but there's a picture of the sign. Sorry cat colony TR method, do not trap or remove. Number one is probably an illegal sign, but number two it's a pretty good indicator where staff needs to go to go look into that. Thank you.
Kevin Nicholas Glazier next. After that Sean Sweeney and Arthur Madden.
I don't think you need the this look. Do you need that?
Good morning. Uh my name is Kevin Nicholas Glacer. And I'm here to speak about the cause of potholes. Uh, to get to the point, potholes are caused by Residual fluorine. in the stone underneath each pothole. The fluorine reacts with water, creating hydrogen fluoride. which is used in industry in glass etching. So what's happening uh is the fluorine is hardening the material. Pulling out
the oil. and then the hydrogen fluoride turns it to dust. This is happening throughout the world. And um Also in the ocean. The ocean. If you just go down to Green Key Road, look to the north. When uh uh tide is out, you can see potholes appearing. And then you you bring your eyes closer to the edge and you see the source of those potholes, all
those stone parts and pieces. What this all goes back to is an event in which fluorine rose to the surface, hardening the entire surface of the the earth. To show you the difference between the geologic timescale model and a spatial analysis perspective, consider. uh coal, coal seams.
In geology they teach you that um coal is two hundred to three hundred million years old and it was produced by extreme pressure and time.
However, from a spatial analysis perspective, You arrive at the year twenty three seventy B C E, when this Great Flood uh started. This was a year long event, covered the the entire earth. And as the waters were pulled away the fluorine reached the surface, hardening the entire surface, pulling out the oil of all these dead creatures laying everywhere. if you dig into coal
seams you look at the sandstone and um uh shale below above and below. You see imprints of uh tropical vegetation. Along with um Uh dinosaurs. Um fish, birds. As well as human artifacts. The human history only goes. Back six thousand years. And yet coal seams are said to be two hundred, three hundred million years old. Obviously
it doesn't make sense. And that's one of the reasons why potholes have been misunderstood. Uh the r the release of fluorine came from uh a rock called antizonite, which was the excrement built up for thousands of years, by a particular creature that I've been investigating, That's about all the time I have, but my name again is Kevin Nicholas Glosser. German. Um
my email is Kevin Nichol Nicholas Glacer at gmail dot com. Thank you very much.
Next Shawn Sweeney, following him Arthur Madden.
Good morning. My name is Shawn Sweeney. My address is exempt.
Past twenty years I've been a law enforcement officer in the State of Florida. I'm here today to speak in support of law enforcement's responsibility responsible use of license plate technology. At its core, this technology is about one thing and giving law enforcement another tool to protect victims, locate people in danger, and solve crimes more effectively. First and foremost, license plate readers can help us serve victims and solve crimes. When someone is robbed, assaulted, burglarized, or has their vehicle stolen, investigators are often worked with
limited information. A witness may remember only the color of a vehicle, part of a license plate, or the direction it traveled. License plate reader technology can provide investigators with another piece of the puzzle. This does not replace good police work. It makes good police uh police work more effective. Second, consider the importance of this technology when dealing with kidnapped or missing children. When a child is missing, every minute matters. If Lawrence Enforcement
has information about suspect vehicle or license plate, a network of license plate readers can help identify where that vehicle has traveled, providing investigators and information that can help focus the search. For a parent waiting for their child to come home, time is not an abstract concept. Anything that can anything can responsibly help law enforcement locate that child sooner deserves serious consideration.
Third, these systems provide a deterrent effect. Criminals take advantage of anonymity when offenders know the vehicles traveling into and out of an area may be identified as part of a criminal investigation and increases their risk of being caught. That changes the s the calculation for someone considering committing a crime inside Pasco County. Finally, license plate readers are a tremendous force multiplier. No law enforcement agency has unlimited personnel. A deputy cannot physically
be on every street, at every intersection, or in every neighborhood at the same time. Technology helps bridge that gap. A licensed plate reader does not get tired, does not become distracted, it can capture vehicle information while deputies are answering calls, investigating crimes, conducting traffic enforcement, and responding to emergencies. But this technology should not replace deputies, investigators, community relationships, or constitutional policing. It should support them. and
responsible use matters, appropriate policies, training, oversight, data retention standards, and accountability should accompany those technologies.
The question should not simply be whether technology has risks almost every po powerful public safety tool does. The question is whether we can use that technology responsibly while protecting individual rights and make our counties safer. Ultimately this is not about cameras. It's about victims. It's about families. It's about giving law enforcement the tools necessary to bring people home and hold offenders accountable. Thank you.
Next up, Arthur Madden. The next three are Christy Zimmer, Jonathan Fedora, and Jeff Gray.
Hello, Arthur Matten, 8661 Citizen Drive. I want to first start by thanking the board for almost two years ago entering into an interlocal agreement with the Sheriff's Office reference licensed plate reader. Um a backstory is so I've been on the job almost 25 years now, and I vividly remember uh sitting in Red Off, the sergeant in front of me, roll call, and he's uh he's reading his bolos, right? I remember the
vehicle make model tag and color. And we all wrote it down, we all went in service. And I remember putting forth good effort to find those vehicles because I know they were attached to a crime. But all too often it's uh you're deviated because there's calls for service. Um Time is of the essence when we want to catch bad people doing bad things or bad people that have done bad things. And that's what uh license plate readers do. They they augment, they're a force multiplier for law
enforcement. Um so I believe the the BOCC entered into the agreement with the basis of trust. Trust almost two years ago, trust for both the licensed plate reader program and for the Pasco Sheriff's Office. So the board trusted the licensed plate reader system as a tool for law enforcement to help protect the citizens of Pasco County. They trusted that the system, as it was designed, would help law enforcement locate vehicles involved in crimes, locate stolen
vehicles, and aid in locating missing persons or abducted people. How do they trust law enforcement? The Board trusted that the Pasco Sheriff's Office would use these systems with professionalism and integrity to carry out their daily duties with the passion of solving crime and bringing justice to the victims as quickly as possible.
Almost two years since this agreement's been in place. You can read online, you can read social media, and you'll see that there's been misuses. It's blatant and it's spoken been spoken about today. But not here in Pasco's. You sit here as I stand here. The Pasco Sheriff's Office has in fact implemented policies and procedures to ensure this tool, the license plate reader, was not abused or
misused, but used with the due care of respect for the citizens of Pasco County and the victims in the cases that they work on.
That's all I have. Thank you guys.
Thank you for your service. Christy Zimmer.
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I am asking you today to do something very simple. Your name and address for the record, please? Christy Zimmer, thirty six fifteen, Pinecone Court, Land O' Lakes, Florida.
Thank you.
I'm asking you today to do something very simple. Do not sign this contract for Flocker Axon Surveillance Cameras. Not yet. This is not an argument against law enforcement. It's an argument for constitutional policing, responsible government, and protecting the rights of every person who lives in this county. The legal landscape has just changed. On June 29th, the United States Supreme Court decided Chat Reed versus United States. The court held that when police obtain historical location information that reveals a person's movements, they are conducting
a search under the Fourth Amendment. Mm-hmm. And the Court made an important point. It does not matter simply by the information was collected by a private technology company rather than the government. The principle matters here. FLOC and similar automated license plate systems do not merely photograph a license plate. They create searchable records showing where vehicles were observed, when they were observed, and potentially how these observations fit over time. The question for the board should be, should therefore not be, can a camera photograph a car on a public road?
Of course it can. The question is what happens when the government turns millions of those individual observations into searchable record of people's movements? That is where constitutional concerns arise and Florida gives our citizens an additional layer of protection. Article 1, Section 23 of the Florida Constitution expressly says that every natural person has the right to be left alone and free from government intrusion into private life. The Florida Supreme Court has recognized that this is a fundamental privacy
right. So this board should not be asking only whether a vendor says its system is legal. You should be asking whether the government's use of this system is necessarily necessary, narrowly controlled, and consistent with privacy rights guaranteed to Floridians. There is another reason to pause. Florida law already specifically regulates automated license. Wait. Recognition Systems. It addresses retention of ALPR data and places restrictions on handling and disclosure of identifying information. Yet technology is
moving faster than the law. We are now seeing systems capable of connecting vehicle observations with increasingly sophisticated databases, investigative tools. That means the board is not simply voting to purchase cameras. You are voting to create or expand a government surveillance infrastructure. Once that infrastructure exists, it is extraordinarily difficult to put the genie back in the bottle, and there are practical risks as well. Recent incidents have demonstrated that surveillance databases can be misused by individual
officers. A powerful system does not become safe merely because the policy says it should be appropriate. So I'm asking you to abandon technology. I'm not asking you to. I'm asking you to demand safeguards before deployment. Require a written policy governing searches, require document investigative justification, require Meaningful auditing, require strict limits on retention and sharing, require judicial authorization when a search becomes a reconstruction of an individual's movements, and require this board
and the public to know exactly who can access this information, where it goes, how long it remains available, and what happens when the contract ends. Do not make this county a case test case study. Thank you.
Please do not clap.
After that, Jeff Gray.
Hey everybody, Jonathan Federa. I live at 3810 Round Table Court. I'm here to discuss Flock and Atson cameras. I moved from New York five years ago to escape overreach. Okay? During COVID it was miserable up there. I moved three businesses down here Thinking that that would be fine. And here we are again. Same type of overreach. Uh the last speaker brought up that case, June 26th, Chatry.
Okay. This is not constitutional. It violates our Fourth Amendment rights. Alright, when these things happen, people that have businesses will leave again. Okay, we I brought twenty jobs down to this county across the three businesses. The last thing we need is Flock and Axon cameras. I've never been in trouble with the law. All of my interactions with the law have been great down here. Okay. This is a tool that doesn't just read license plates. Okay. It picks up on other devices that
are in the car. It is a complete overreach and it violates our Fourth Amendment rights. One of the things I will tell you guys is I went with somebody else in this room and we on Saturday held a sign to block The camera. Not destroy it. Block it. the vast majority there was not one negative interaction there. Not one. Everybody that Saw it, waved at us, gave us a thumbs up, Uh some people bought us drinks and snacks and most
people said thank you. The vast majority of people in this county do not want these cameras. I am asking you guys please do not move forward with this. It really is a overreach. I would love to see everybody else's opinion here, if people could stand up if they actually supported this. It seems like law enforcement loves this idea and I understand it could make their job easier, but not without violating our rights. We have to draw the line somewhere. I hope you can draw here. That's
I'm done. Take.
Next. Do not
clap. We've got it actually listed as protocol. Thank you.
Jeff Gray. After that is Tom Saleto, Cindy Sakarda, and Melissa Horne.
Jeff Gray. Forty three hundred, Lanna Lakes Boulevard, Lanma Lakesh Florida. I'm here representing the Fraternal Order Police, John Nelson Memorial Lodge 29. It's been there for over 40 years. I've been a resident of this county for 51 years. Mr. Weightman was my principal back in the day in Newport Ritchie when I went to school. I've been with the Sheriff's Office thirty nine years. There's
a lot of talk about the positives and negatives of these cameras, and I understand where everybody's coming from, but I think sometimes we get a little carried away with what its real purpose is. It's reading tags, it's not reading anybody's face, it can't track your movements. It gives us a direction of travel, doesn't give us where you're going. It just doesn't work that way. But what it does do in times of great crisis and need is it gives us a lead.
Investigators need leads to solve cases, correct? They just it just doesn't happen without it. We need live testimony from witnesses. The citizens have to participate in the system where it fails. This is a tool. Period. All it is is a tool, like anything else on a deputy's belt. The car, the computers, all of them are tools. Tools are abused. You go after the abuser, not the tool. People
that have spoken before me talked about there's been no events of this with Pasco, because we do have strict authority. The Sheriff takes care of these things. He holds us all accountable on a daily basis. You all know that. You see it. You see it in the reports that come out. We will continue to always do that. We will continue to evolve. And to the to the citizen that worries about the technology evolving faster than the law, that's a very true statement. But it doesn't mean you throw out the tool. Talk
about it. Discuss it. understand it properly, It's not tracking anybody. There is no facial recognition. And somebody made a comment about Home Depot earlier. Cameras on private property or private cameras. Those businesses have the like to have those cameras there. And I know the Fourth Amendment keeps coming up and I have a lot of confusion on it because I don't know that this is a Fourth Amendment violation. You're in when you're in public if someone snaps your photo and you call
the Sheriff's Office, we're not we're gonna tell you there's nothing we can do, that they took your photo. You're you're in public. So I agree with some of this where we need to really look at it closely, but I don't think it should go away because it is a tool. It saves lives. It finds missing children. Silver alerts. Do you know Flock Camera picked up a silver alert out of Florida, all the way up in Tennessee? That's how they found him. 'Cause a flock. Saved his life, dementia. He just got in the car and started driving. It's a tool. That's
all I have. Thank you.
Thank you.
Next, Tom Solato.
Good morning. Uh Thomas Salato, 18235 Floralton Drive. It's in Spring Hill, 34610. Um I like to speak about data breaches. Um I have a thirty-five year background in this. That's my career. After I graduated college in nineteen eighty seven, I worked for an international engineering company located in Odessa. Their focus was the food processing industry. Kiebler, Peppered Farm,
Kellogg's, General Foods, you name it. We worked on them. I worked in the Computer Programming Services Division where we developed software to control the plant. Inclusive of the software was data. Of course, recipes. Recipes were private from other employees at various levels. Upon leaving said company I went out on my own. I formed Micro Solutions of Pasco. For many years, from 1993 until about 2013, I traveled the state and the county excuse me and the
country, providing data consulting and programming services to many clients in various industries. And a short list of my data solutions developed would track personal information, financial information, medical, purchasing, insurance, banking. And a lot of times with this data collecting were pictures or videos.
Data privacy and protection. Every client engagement started with concern for the client's data. Going back to the beginning, first company I work for. We would receive contracts and the legal team would review it. Within the contracts legal verbiage was technical verbiage. Technical verbiage that we had to review and understand how the client expects their data to be protected. Inclusive of protecting the data were documents, company
staff, sometimes even outside vendors are required to acknowledge and sign. The last gentleman spoke about that and many others about the Sheriff's Department. The reality is no matter what legal dep documents are in place or policies and procedures, any staff with access to the data essentially holds the keys to the castle. At this point, it's not a question of if the data will be breached, it's a question of when. A disgruntled employee or vendor with just enough knowledge of
how the system is protected is a data breach in jeopardy. A very popular way breaches occurs through weak or stolen passwords. Innocently a person gives a password to another person and then uses that opportunity to perform improper use of his unauthorized access. I'll give you a similar real world example I'm sure we all have experienced. We've been at a store performing a transaction that requires the clerk to receive a higher level access, maybe a return or a higher limit
purchase. The clerk requests help. Another person assists the clerk by yelling their code across the store. Not only did you hear the code, but the other associates did. and with an instance of helping another a security breach has occurred. May I have extra time? About thirty seconds.
Human errors and misconfiguration examples include accidentally exposing databases, misconfigured cloud storage, sensitive sending sensitive information to the wrong recipient, or failing to follow security procedures. These examples are due of just a few of a hundred thousands of failing points that have occurred within small businesses to huge enterprises. Our personal data is not to be misused, improperly stored, or shared with others, no more than its intended purpose.
Our data is not for sale by any means. All of us have experience sharing our data without our permission. We hear about data security breaches all the time. Time. Just ask John Morgan for Morgan and Morgan. He has made billions because of this issue.
I hope by me being here today will help shed some light and concern for our commissioners that our privacy is just as important as our company's eight companies recipe for success. Our county is facing many technical related issues, solar farms, data centers, flock cameras. These impact our community in different ways. I'm at my last paragraph. It may be a time for to form a committee of professionals in the industries that can review the implications of these technologies, perform
the proper research, and provide guidance to a solution mutually beneficial for our community and others involved. Thank you.
Cindy Sco Scourda. Sorry about that. Melissa Horne and then John Moody.
Hi, my name is Cindy Scarda. I'm at 29157 Cochiti Lake Drive, San Antonio, Florida. In researching the flock and acts on cameras, I came across this article from a news site, KRGTV.com, Local News in Missouri. The Pulaski County Sheriff's Office announced Thursday that it will discontinue the use of Flock license plate reader cameras. In a statement, the Sheriff's Office said it will not renew its flock contra contract and will not replace the cameras with axon. uh
another company that produces cameras for law enforcement agencies. Pulaski County Sheriff said he believed his deputies had used the technology Technology professionally and responsibly, but also noted genuine public concerns about privacy, government surveillance, and m misuse. I can continue defending FLOC, explaining its benefits and safeguards, but sometimes leadership isn't about proving your right. Sheriff Ball said, sometimes leadership means listening to the people you serve. Although
technology is important, Scherf Ball said that no piece of t technology is more important than the trust of the people we serve. Uh he said discontinuing FLAC will not stop his deputies from doing the hard work they do to serve and protect the community. I want to read a founding quote from one of our founding fathers, Thomas Jefferson. He who gives freedom for safety gets none of them. reinforcing the idea that freedom and security are
not mutually mutually compatible if one is sacrificed for the others. Ah, this quote and others from our founding fathers underscores a core principle of American political philosophy. Liberty is a non-negotiable foundation of society, and security measures should not come at the expense of fundamental rights. So I believe that this is an overreach. I believe there's other ways. I don't know the cost of these cameras. Could that money
be spent more wisely in hiring more sheriffs or deputies and police officers? or more uh office staff. I don't know what these cameras cost or what the replacement would be for uh replacing the flock cameras. I don't know if that's been discussed or whatever, but maybe that money would be uh better utilized elsewhere. So thank you for listening to your constituents. I applaud you for allowing us to take the time to share
our concerns. uh about our freedom, liberty, and uh our security of our privacy. So thank you very much.
Melissa Horne and then John Moody.
I'd like to submit a picture to go along with my issue. Mm-hmm.
Uh Melissa Horn, one three seven zero four, Janita Drive, Hudson. I am here today to talk about 14301 Clamshell Lane. This has probably been brought up to you before. Um, homeless and squatters have been in this property for over a year. It there is junk scattered throughout, from the front of the house to the back of the house, as you can see in the pictures. They're now living in a makeshift tarp, running a generator at all
hours of the night, homeless. I don't know how they're getting fuel to run a generator. However, the owner of the property, there is two, according to the Pasco Property Appraisers Office. One of them is currently in jail, actually I believe he was just released, uh for stealing and theft and burglary throughout the community. As you can see by the front yard, if you're missing anything, it's probably there. Code enforcement has been called numerous times, and yet nothing is done. The Sheriff's
Office has been called numerous times, and yet nothing is done. Neighbors report, this is not my direct neighbor, but I live in this neighborhood. Uh neighbors report traffic coming in and out at all hours of the night. Nothing is done. They're now encroaching on the empty, vacant First Baptist Church on the corner of Old Dixie and Hudson Avenue. and nothing is done. Um again, neighbors have complained numerous times. News reports have gone out there and interviewed neighbors, including the church next
door, that has expressed concerns about the safety of their parishioners, the safety of children attending the church, and also their property and their vehicles while at church. There are two legal owners on here. One of them claims to be MIA, but yet they're claiming homestead exemption. So maybe that's something that needs to be looked into as well. Um, when I called Code Enforcement Office to inquire, I'm being told it's handled by the County Attorney and they're not at liberty to discuss any of that matter with me. When
I called Jack Mariano's office, I'm told the same thing. When I called the county attorney's office, I'm told they're not at liberty to discuss it with me. I've lived here for nine and a half years. Code Enforcement has had no problem tagging me and numerous other residents for a license tagged and insured boat trailer, boat, or jet skis in my driveway. Many of these residents pay over ten thousand dollars a year to live in this beautiful waterfront community. I I just don't understand how
this is continuing to go on. I know it's not happening in other waterfront communities because I'm also a realtor. I travel around the county. It's not happening in Gulf Harbors. It's not happening in Tarpon Springs. It's not happening in Hernando Beach. Why is it happening in Hudson Beach? Um Thank you.
Melissa if you would I've got Sam Boundy coming down, Chases in the back and David Allen is in the back as well. They should be able to talk with you.
Next up is John Moody following Michael Polteric and Brian Sebraya.
Morning Commissioner, John Moody, one two eight two one Spur Road, Hudson, Florida. Um I'm here to talk to you today about R 41 on your agenda, which is the proposed policy memo 36 regarding multifamily properties. I'd like you to know. that as a sitting planning commission member None of the Planning Commission has been presented yet with the draft version of the future land use element of the Pasco
twenty fifty comp plan. There have been a number of workshops scheduled and canceled. And the only folks that have received a cop a draft copy of that proposed element are our local land use attorneys. Once that element was provided to the land use attorneys, I received calls from every one of them.
And I understand I haven't seen this document, so I can't comment on the document, but I understand that there are some potentially serious issues, land use issues, potential Bert Harris claims that exist within that document. I see today. Staff has presented you with a proposed policy on multifamily housing. And I feel like this is an issue that needs to be vetted with the stakeholders and needs to be heard before
the Planning Commission, before the Board adopts a policy without proper discussion. And so I'm asking you today to please recommend that this matter be heard by the Planning Commission, that there be public workshops scheduled, and then we can have a policy discussion. Maybe some of these concepts are good. But until we've fully vetted them We have no idea. Also on flock cameras. I ask a lot of my friends. What do you think of the flock cameras? They
tell me they don't care, I'm not doing anything wrong. And I agree. I'm not doing anything wrong either. until somebody redefines what's wrong. and a few years ago during COVID, We had a lot of people redefine what was right and what was wrong. and a lot of us were told to do things in the name of public safety. and we were told to follow the science, and now it turns out that that science has been disproven and that those things did not promote public safety.
So I'll ask you to consider that before you adopt the Flock cameras. The other thing I'll say about that is Flock is a nationwide network. Okay. Pasco County can access information from other states. Other states can access it from here. The federal government can access what's on these cameras. So just because the Pasco County Sheriff's Department has good policy about how we use the cameras, that doesn't mean the sheriff in Tennessee or the Sheriff in North Dakota has the same policies
and can't abuse that data. So that's something to consider. Thank you. Thank you.
Michael Polteric.
Good morning everybody. Michael Pultoric. Addresses redacted.
I wanna start out by saying I am one hundred percent pro law enforcement, one hundred percent pro fire rescue, one hundred percent pro public safety. However, everybody that got up here to argue for the flock cameras used theories. It's an idea. All these great things are gonna happen. But nobody came up here other than a silver alert and gave you any statistics. to how many cases have actually been solved with this. There's
no efficacy that's been shown to you to keep this going and keep the spending going for this program. Liberty is a freedom from government overreach. It's specifically stated in the Declaration of Independence, the preamble to the Constitution, the Fifth Amendment, the Fourteenth Amendment. My position is from the Fourth Amendment, with unreasonable searches, and the Fifth Amendment specifically stating, no person shall be denied liberty without due process.
Automatic license plate readers do not grant the due process for its citizens. But what's the other cost to the citizens? Because in the end we the people, we the taxpayers, burden the cost. My annual tax bill went up again. I'm only assessed at $296,000. My tax bill went up to $4,500 for the year.
There's been a billion dollars collected. From the Penny for Pasco, twenty per cent is for public safety.
I don't see all of the dollars adding up in a responsible manner. Let me give you an example. And I'm pro fire rescue. But we have a fire MSTU here. And for my one home, it's over $500. But we're paying not one, not two, but three fire rescue bonds. In this year's property taxes. We've already collected a billion dollars from the penny for Pasco. The spending
just keeps getting moved around like a shell game. Do you guys realize we have to sleep overnight at the district park to try to get baseball fields for our kids to practice on? If you're not one of the first two teams in line to sleep overnight, you don't get a baseball field. We tried bringing USA Scout Baseball to Wesley Chapel this year. Over a hundred and fifty kids tryout. I've had to move all those players to Tampa
because there isn't baseball fields. As you've pointed out, the average age of our residents and families has decreased. We're putting money out for government surveillance of law abiding citizens, but not putting out the money to build the baseball and football fields that our kids need to keep 'em out of trouble. Thank you. Right.
Next up, Brian Sarapia. And then Rebecca Tept and Adam Brusselback.
Good morning. My name is Brian Sarabia.
Excuse me one second, Brian. Chair, um he's gonna speak on two different topics. Can he get one additional minute?
Good.
Uh I'm here as a citizen of Pasco County, but it so happens that I am the Division Director of the Newport Ridge State Attorney's Office, which means I oversee all of the crimes that get prosecuted here on the west side of Pasco County. Um I believe I just heard someone ask for statistics, so here you go. Kevin Barnes, case number 2021, CF 002017. Crystal Koren, case number 2021, CF 002063. Christopher
Neff, case number 2021, CF 001951. Tierra Johnson and uh Antoine Greer, case number 2026, CF 3379. Tommy Donaldson, case number 2024, CF 001950. All of those people are currently charged with murder in the first degree pending over there in the courthouse. Those are just the ones I've been working on in the past two weeks, uh, for one reason or another. Uh so each one of those cases, uh license
plate reader was an integral part to the investigation. Some of 'em it was the defining uh Reason why we were able to proceed with the case. Additionally, there's a major drug trafficking operation that was coming through Pasco County. Case number 2026, CF 003504, where seven different people were arrested and facing very, very serious charges. That case was made through license plate readers, which included license plate readers across the country because we were able to track. The trafficking operation
from El Paso, Texas. And again, those are just the ones I've been working on in the past two weeks. So I've heard some of the people say that uh it's a it's unconstitutional, it's an overreach, and the reality is it is not. I'm an attorney. I work with Fourth Amendment issues, Fourteenth Amendment issues, constitutional issues every day. Uh and the constitution simply does not Speak against this. These readers capture information
that is read readily observable to anyone in the public sphere. And if a company chooses to make that information readily accessible to our law enforcement, then there is no constitutional implication. And the reality is these cameras exist anyway. Do we want Elon Musk to be making use of all of them and collecting our personal data for his purposes, or do we want to give law enforcement the benefit of being able to utilize it in the investigations?
Um I would note, just because people don't like something or because they're afraid of something or because they don't understand the realities of a situation does not mean that it's unconstitutional, illegal, or improper. I would note that to say law enforcement can't use this tool would be like saying that they can't use Google. They can't use Facebook. Let's cancel their internet subscription. We might as well limit them completely. To use an example a little bit more my age and some
of y'all's. The eighties and nineties, it would be like taking their phone book away. Why give them a list of names, addresses, and phone numbers? These are just tools, compilations of data that is already being collected. Surveillance is everywhere. Most of us probably have ring cameras. They're on every block, every street. Uh there Google is taking pictures of everything. I use Google Maps, I'm sure you guys do too.
Teslas are all over Pasco County. It's hard to drive down the road without almost hitting one. Uh those are constantly video and audio recording, everything around them. The surveillance is out there. The only question is are we going to allow law enforcement to utilize it in a positive way. And I'll tell you what, the license plate readers are less intrusive than all the things that I just brought up. Ask yourselves, why do we have license plates? Why do we bother? Why are they there?
Yeah. Statutes prohibiting switching them, obscuring them, they are there because we want them to be visible. Because we want them to be able to go.
We are
May I wrap it up, please?
Sure.
Anyway, cases I believe one of the um Arthur Madden brought up that they used to watch for license plates. Uh we used to get witnesses in the 80s and 90s would say, I saw a license plate, maybe a partial plate. At about this time, license plate readers allow us to get more exact, more credible evidence to avoid wrongful convictions, to avoid wrongful information. to avoid scenarios where an injustice does occur and also to solve the crimes. Uh and I also find it ironic that a bunch of the people or who claim to
be advocating for less government intrusion want you guys to intrude and limit the ability of some of our fellow citizens to do their jobs. Thank you.
Like
Rebecca Teft, following but Adam Brusselback, and then Amy Baird.
Um Rebecca Taft, 6155 Missouri Avenue, Newport Ritchie, Florida. And I hope that I am have the right information. I actually came to talk about a zoning approval changing from agricultural to to um What do you call it? Building houses? And it is on the property Uh located on Denton Avenue.
That's gonna be this afternoon at one thirty.
Oh.
They'll do a the staff will present, applicant will present, we'll take public comment at that point in time. That'd be a better time to come by.
Alright, can I back up then and do my flop thing?
Sure.
Okay.
I had 'em backwards. Okay. Sorry, give me just a second to get my my stuff. Um I'm just gonna make a couple of quotes. Um from the Riche report in July 2026, surveillance systems that make every aspect of public life permanent and trackable are fundamentally incompatible with the free with the free um the freedom outlined in the US
Constitution. The loss of privacy creates a relationship of dominance. And I do understand how wonderful this tool is for the police department. But I also trust with the thousands of cameras that we already have, they can complete these jobs without the use of mass surveillance. Um you know, they are they are everywhere. The them I have I am law-abiding, I don't break laws, I go bowling,
I go to the doctor. Doctor, but every time I do that It is in a database. This goes in, even though we only access it three days, thirty days, it goes into a worldwide database that is tracking me. And the Even though it says license plate, the license plate has my name, address, social security, and date of birth in this system that is wide open for abuse. And that
I don't feel very safe. I feel like I am being stalked and I don't do anything wrong. So I guess I'm just gonna stop there. 'Cause I'm getting passionate. Thank you everybody. One
thirty for the zone.
One thirty, yes, thank you.
Okay. Adam Brusselback.
Hello, Adam Brusselback. I live at 3636 Hunting Creek Loop in Newport Ritchie, Florida. I was here two weeks ago. Two weeks ago you were told that the Court had settled the Fourth Amendment question. It hasn't. When the Fourth Amendment came up, you were told that a federal ruling from January held that there was no expectation of privacy in the public right away. That's the Norfolk case. It's one district court in
Virginia. It's on appeal right now. And it was decided before the Supreme Court ruled in Chatry on June 29th. Chatry held that getting a person's location records is a search, even when the private company holds the data. even when the window is short. In that case, the window was two hours. Two things the board was told was that a private company, Axon or Flock, holds it, and that it's only thirty days.
In Chatri the government argued both of those. The Court said it was a search anyway, and a search needs a warrant. The assurance you are given is resting on a case that got decided against before the Supreme Court weighed in.
Next, the claim of image still I'm sorry. Next, the claim of still images only that the officer made in his presentation the other week Um Axon's current poll cameras do plate reading and live video streaming at the same time. That's out of Axon's own user guide. So when he claimed no video, it's still images of licensed plates only. That may be true of the Flock system that's up today. It's not true of the system that they're switching
to.
Third thing, Commissioner Yeager described this as being for the harshest of crimes. The list read into the p uh the record a minute later includes trespass. The list is broader than the description. Setting up a surveillance state to stop people from using boat ramps after dark is a waste of my tax dollars.
They sit on the county right of way, which makes it a county liability. Norfolk is in federal court over this exact question right now, And you're betting county money on the outcome of a case that you have no control over. And you wanted to do this without even reading the contract. Take them down. Thank you.
Amy Baird.
Amy Baird, eight one one eight, Plath Road, Newport Ritchie.
Good morning. I am here today to oppose the ALPR devices in Pasco County. I was in Date City for the last meeting too. I did not walk away from the last meeting, feeling like my County Commissioners were listening to the growing voices of opposition.
While I understand that the Pasco County Sheriff's Department presents itself as being responsible with the data that the FLOC System cameras have been collecting on all of our county citizens. I do not believe that to be the case.
I remind you of their history of systemic predictive policing in our school system.
This was against our very own children. In the early 2020s, the Pasco County Sheriff's Office had a policing program that used student data, grades, and childhood adversity histories. and flag juveniles as possible future criminals. Free criminals. Want your kids.
The list of potential offenders was kept in secret. by the Pasco County Sheriff's Department. This brought an investigation by the US Department of Education and resulted in a lawsuit being filed. a settlement was reached for that lawsuit with four plaintiffs for hundreds of thousands of dollars in December of twenty twenty four, the very same month you guys approved the Flock Cameras. So
do I trust the Sheriff's Department to handle our data properly? No, I do not. Many citizens do not. The Sheriff's Department has been collecting data on us since the Flock System cameras were approved. Bayu. our Board of County Commissioners in December of twenty twenty four. So I have some questions for y'all.
What is the status currently of the contract with flock safety? Does anyone know?
We don't we don't respond.
What is the status of the flock safety contract? We need answers on this, even if it's next meeting. If it has been ended, why are the flock cameras still up? And are they still collecting data currently? This brings up another point of dispute with the Sheriff's Department narrative. Control over the data that is collected does not rest solely with the Sheriff's Department. You've heard that several times today already.
There are other parties who have access to that unconstitution unconstitutional dragnet of data. And can choose to share or even sell that data, not to mention if it is even secure and subject to being hacked. What is the status status of the contract with Axon for installation of their data collection cameras? That's another question we need answered. And um what kind of data points are going to be collected? Additionally,
these devices are being placed in our right of way along the roads under the County Land Development Code, Section 406.2. Excuse me,
ma'am. I have to stop you. Yeah. But the the good Shake Scandal's right in the back. He can answer those questions for you right now.
Very good.
Thank you.
Okay, we have one more speaker. Chase Daniels would like to speak. If you'd like to come to the podium please.
Maybe Chase can answer that question was just asked. Is there anyone else who would like to speak before the board? Uh we're gonna go to online, but if you would, uh let's line up behind Chase.
Maybe Shady, maybe maybe let the other speaker speak and then if you're gonna have Chief Daniel speak, have him go last. That would
I've only got one more here, so is there one more? Yeah, there's one more, and then we get some online. But a couple more. But I think now that the question's fresh, go ahead and answer the question and absolutely.
Chase Daniels, Pasco Sheriff's Office, 8661, Citizen Drive. Thank you very much, Commissioner and thank you to uh to the members of the public for the uh for the very robust debate today. Um to to answer the the the primary questions surrounding uh Flock and our shift to Axon. Uh so We do currently have uh flock cameras. That agreement is in place until September 30th, and then we'll be switching to Axon. Um, again, just to reiterate uh the things that you've heard before, these are a very, very beneficial tool for the Pasco Sheriff's Office. So as you can imagine, we we used to have uh juveniles
that would come up out of Tampa and St. Petersburg, and they would um you know come up and they would essentially steal cars in neighborhoods right along the Sun Coast, right on Interstate 75 with essential impunity because they knew as soon as they got below the county line it was very, very difficult uh to locate them and find them. Um with these cameras, we have seen a lot of those crimes essentially go away. We have seen a lot of benefit uh through these. Uh certainly do appreciate the the time that I've spent with uh with Mr. Goldstein's team and Todd Bailey and his team. Um, you know, as you all have reviewed our contracts and in our agreements,
uh, you know, I know typically it is just budgetary and then the the sheriff enters the contracts but but we certainly appreciate uh the time that we've spent with you as as we've gone through these uh your review of them and your thoughtful look at these um and again just to just to reiterate the the benefit of these um if there are any other questions you know i'm certainly happy to to provide those uh the gentleman earlier who who talked about uh who talked about success stories and cases um I did uh present two weeks ago a PowerPoint I'm happy to make available to anyone. It's also available through the uh the County Commission the YouTube page as well uh for anyone
who's looking for any of that information. Um but with that I'm I'm here for any other questions or anything else but but thank you very much for for your time and your attention on this matter.
Can I can I have Jason Sure. Do you mind? Um Chase, can you just clarify um that um when the gentleman made the comment about uh not reading the contract that that is that is not our role that we don't do that?
Yeah, yes, ma'am. So so the the board uh on December 10th, 2024 entered into an interlocal agreement permitting the sheriff to put license plate readers in county right-of-way. Uh it was the the sheriff's sole decision at that point on on who to enter into and in the vendors in our uh our procurement process and contracts. Yes, ma'am.
Yeah. Thank you. Alright, and next speaker. And is any other speakers please line up hand this lady?
Your name and address for the board, please. I have not been sworn in.
Sorry, we're not doing that. Okay.
My name is Karen Garten. I live at 11-334 Leisure Lane. I had a stack of documents like this. And originally I was gonna send things to the board members prior to me coming today, but two of you, um, Miss Dargies, and there wasn't one for Mr. Whiteman to send. So I'll stop there. Before I get to why I came today, as far as previous people that came up here, the Cat TNR prod uh project that they have at different facilities,
they expect you to come. Come pick up that cat and bring it back to where you found it. So it's not eliminating the cat problem just by getting it fixed. It's now your responsibility. Um, the potholes, we have looked into that because we just had our street done. Johnson Road looks absolutely beautiful. The one thing I fought for was fixing what caused the problem, and that was flooding. This last rain, we had one of the beginning houses on James Street up to the door, which is
almost three feet from the ground. So the flooding is there, that road will have uh diminished capacity. Um I did look at what we were doing today as far as um the agenda. One thing I want to bring up was one of the items to change the hotel into a living facility. I didn't write down on this piece of paper what it was. Wanted a continuance. One of the issues I have is we've had continuances for certain projects that could last six
to eight months. after a a first continuance or a second, can they re H can there be something put in place where it has to be put back in the paper and reintroduced to the public? 'Cause at this point it's like it gets dragged on and less people know that it's still active. And
to see you know that's already in the code. There's already a requirement that after um sixty days it has to be re advertised.
Okay, I appreciate that. Now I was gonna wait until the different things came up, but for the flock cameras I don't understand how we can have board members granted only to have a law degree. It is a one hundred percent violation of the Fourth Amendment. And as board members, I think you should at least know that. Now we do have cameras that have existed for decades. They're state cameras. They're live. They have been there for a long time, and
majority of the cases that they are talking about were not um, come to an end by a flock camera, but by a state camera. And that includes a lot of the silver alerts. Um any obtained information are also being used for predatory towing. for uh plates that bounce back as a repo vehicle. Um I did speak to Home Depot. Those are not their cameras and they were under the impression that yes, police if they ask for it, they
can access the the data, but that data is being sold. Plain and simple. We had no right to ever put those cameras up in the our possession or say it's ours. If I could just have one second left. Um My main reason for coming today is an issue that I've personally had to deal with with the county. and at this point I wanted to give the board notice that in the next week I will be sending out a package stating the
inconsistencies and The apparent veil, invisible veil, that this board and certain departments have given. overreach to code enforcement and police officers for intimidation and harassment of senior citizens. I have specific examples of deputies and code that have misused, intentionally misused 911 And use an exemption that did not apply. I
had to reboot it and have fun redactions.
Let me stop you if I could. I want you to talk to Brantford about the James Street. I know Scallop Drive was an issue that we still dealing with out there, but that Drunson Road was a big project. This board was very happy to get done. But Brantford, you talk about the at the uh about the flooding part with the James Street. I was just trying to look it up. I couldn't find it. And David, if you would talk about uh the concerns she has as well. And ma'am
ma'am, here you go. For the other issues, email should be online.
Alright, next speaker.
Good morning. I see friendly faces. My name is Wayne Scott. My address is redacted. Um I want to talk to everyone just about who I am. So uh the relevance of what I'm speaking about today. Uh I'm a retired New York City police officer and I was a IT guy and um I used to do security cameras. So I think my opinion on the flock cameras would be a little bit um relevant. There's
a lot of officers that came up. Um, Mr. Lawless, I know. We stand on opposite sides of this just because of my experience. There's a business um owner here that came up earlier, and he spoke about He moved here because he wanted that freedom. And that is something that I think a lot of people here don't really understand and appreciate just yet. And I'm hoping that my sense of what these cameras
are and can become will warn you and alert you to put things in place and maybe even take a pause on them. I do not believe it's a constitutional argument at this point. Maybe how it's being used would be. I don't think the officers that came up here are talking about did the flock cameras help in solving a crime? And is that good or bad? It's how they were used. in what specific
role they played. Um in New York, right now we have a Democrat Socialist identified mayor. And in 2007, I was working as a police officer, and the guys from California came down and they said, Man, I remember when things was like this. You guys are about 10 years away from where we're at. I laughed. I was like, there's no way. That's impossible. Look
at where we are 20 years later. It's small steps that lead down this path. And yes, they're paved with good intentions. But I don't believe these items are being used in the proper manner. And I'd like to introduce common sense back to everyone. Before coming up here and speaking, I actually went and looked at the locations of flock cameras. From a security point, if the cameras are there, they're seeing everything.
If the cameras are just pointing at the individuals, Then there's something wrong and I invite you guys to go. And look at the cameras, because I went to 52, I went to Little Road, and I saw these cameras. If I want to read license plates, I'm going to go to the intersection. They're on the off-streets. They're on the sides. That doesn't make sense to me. And it shouldn't make sense to you when you're trying to survey and
capture the most licensed plates possible. It's just bad. Good luck. Take it.
Hi, good morning. My name is Alexandros Mavroid Gonos. I live on Moog Road. I don't feel like giving the address because we have a camera here in the back for the T V. Uh regardless, I want to tell you guys a little bit about myself.
Okay. Alexandros Jorgos Mavroid Gonos, fifty one sixty nine Moog Road. So as you guys might know, Moog Road is Very busy. I have about eight cameras on my house. There used to be a lot of you know transients walking around, so I put them up for the security of my house. Now just a little bit about myself. I've been in access control uh working for uh large integrators, you guys, you use their services every day. Facebook, Google,
the NSA. Uh you name it, all the alphabet agencies. So My experience comes with security and video cameras. Now I'm 35. I've been in this industry for about 12 years. And I can tell you that the AI integration with these cameras is making all of the difference with how it's being used. Uh you might just say these are license plate reader
cameras, but they're not. Uh in about two thousand eighteen I previewed a software that was developed by, let's say, a foreign country, where it wasn't just picking out faces, it was picking out um what somebody's holding, a cell phone, a pencil, a backpack. separating all these out and then it was creating a database of all these faces that it would pick up. And unfortunately, that's
the capability of these flock cameras and the axon cameras. This technology is no longer exclusive to being expensive. It's widely adopted. And we need to mitigate how it's used so that it's not abused. Um somebody had brought up the Um, the discussion about databases. Uh I, you know, I worked for Johnson Controls for about seven
years. They were hacked. They had to pay like a $500 or sorry, $50 million ransom fee to try to get their information back. Long story short, uh the the government, the state doesn't nearly put the same um How can we say?
protocols in place that try to protect our information. All this information is held by private companies. Right now it's Flock. Tomorrow might be Axon. So If Flox hacked Who really controls all of our information?
That's a big issue. Never mind, you know, the hack that happened uh a year ago where most half of the country's social security numbers got stolen, etc. But uh long story short, I've been in this industry for about 12 years. The way that the technology is being used uh is easily abused and has. There was a Pinellas Kelly County deputy. Who is now on trial for this exact reason for stalking cracks? So thank you. I appreciate your time.
Okay, seeing no one else after this we're gonna close public comment and go to online. Gotcha.
Jonathan Deckard, four six three seven, Murcross Lane. Uh good afternoon, Commissioners. I am here today asking you to vote no on extending the flock cameras. I support law enforcement, I support giving our deputies the resources they need to catch criminals and protect our families. But there is a fundamental difference between supporting law enforcement and building a surveillance network that records the movements of thousands of innocent Pasco County residents who are suspected of absolutely nothing. The Fourth Amendment protects Americans against unreasonable
searches and seizures. Technology may have changed dramatically since our Constitution was written. But our fundamental rights have not. When a network of cameras can record where vehicles travel, when they were there, and potentially allow that information to be searched across jurisdictions, we should be asking a very serious question. How much of our privacy are we willing to surrender in the name of security? And there is another side to this issue that concerns me just as much. Who are we trusting with this information? Not
just today. Not just our Sheriff's Office. Who could potentially gain access to morrow? Independent cybersecurity researchers have demonstrated serious vulnerabilities involving Flock equipment, including a widely publicized demonstration claiming a Flock camera could be compromised in under 30 seconds. Flock disputes characterizations that its system has been hacked. And says vulnerabilities identified by research researchers have been addressed. But that
that actually demonstrates my point. There's no such thing as a guarantee that a connected surveillance system will never be compromised. Software changes, vulnerabilities are discovered, employees make mistakes, credentials can be abused, technology evolves. And the information we're talking about isn't meaningless data. It's our movements. It can reveal when somebody leaves home, where your vehicle was seen. and potential patterns about where people travel. Now think about that from perspective of organized criminals,
stalkers, predators, or human traffickers. Florida consistently ranks among the worst states in the nation for reported human trafficking, including being ranked third nationally in reported cases, and Tampa Bay has dealt with serious trafficking operations involving law enforcement agencies from right here in Pasco County. If protecting our children is the justification for surveillance, then we also have to consider what happens if surveillance information ever gets into the wrong hands. Commissioner Yeah. Instead of
Pasco County spending money on this technology, I ask you to consider another option. Invest that money in people. Put more deputies on our streets, put more investigators behind trafficking cases, give our law enforcement officers the manpower and training they need. A camera cannot replace a deputy. And technology should never replace the constitutional protections generations of Americas fought for. Public safety and constitutional liberty do not have to be enemies. We can protect both. Protect our children, protect
our privacy, protect our Fourth Amendment. Please vote no on extending the flock camera contract. Thank you. Thank you.
Okay, and online?
The first signed up is Kathy Julian.
Jeff Cannon.
I'm here. Can I have just one moment? Maybe two minutes? Can you come back to me?
Okay.
Okay, the third one signed up is Anthony Sakasin Saknez. Sorry that I
Yep, I'm here. Can you hear me?
Anthony, yes.
All right, so I'm Anthony Sicineese, 13147, Summerfield Way, Dade City, Florida. At the last meeting, I asked this board to terminate the interlocal agreement in the county's participation with the Sheriff's Alpher Network. Today I want to address some of the arguments we heard in response, not only last week but also today. We heard the deputies need a case number before searching the system, but that safeguard applies to the search, not the collection of the data. My vehicle does not need to be associated with the crime before the camera records where and when it was there. The system collects
first, investigators decide later whether there's a reason to search it. We also heard about data retention that it's only 30 days. We also heard in the news that Flock is changing its defaults to seven days. But um really none of that matters. Even if we accept that it's only thirty days. It doesn't answer what happens to the information when it's accessed, downloaded, or shared during those 30 days. So a rolling day, a rolling 30-day or 30-minute or 30-second database is still government surveillance. We heard that the cameras
don't photograph our faces, but that doesn't really matter. The useful information is that my vehicle was at a particular place at a particular time. That's why all the law enforcement's up here saying how valuable it is to them. It's the exact reason. Um, we also heard that private cameras exist at retailers, HOAs. etc. But the existence of private surveillance isn't an argument for government surveillance. I'm very pro-private surveillance and pro personal liberties. So that's fine. If Home Depot and Lowe's want to have
them, that's fine. But the board's not deciding what Home Depot and Lowe's get to do in their parking lot. They're deciding what Pasco County permits in its public creditways. Yes, we also heard compelling examples of the serious crimes that these cameras help investigate. And those benefits do deserve consideration. I mean it is important. Public safety is very important. But if helping solve a heinous crime is enough by itself to justify surveillance, Then what surveillance capability would this board ever say no to? There's also a legal
question that deserves independent review, and it was brought up previously from some of the other speakers about the Carpenter and Chattery decisions. I do believe that the county attorney should review those and they should provide information to the board about the legal status. Whether this has been decided as a Fourth Amendment issue or not, it doesn't matter. What we'd like to do is get in front of it and make the right decision, not do something just because we can do it and just because it hasn't been ruled
unconstitutional yet. Um officers are issued a firearm. It's one of their useful tools for their job. However, they do not pull their gun and point it at every person they ever come in contact with. It's a great example. The flock cameras do that. you know, millions and millions of license plate captures that are shared with agencies across the nation. And we say it, you know, some of the crimes are solved with it. What what amount of crimes? We talked about cases, but we didn't talk about how many. Is there a substantial amount?
Like has it made that big of a difference compared to the amount of collection? I mean, how did we ever police and prosecute before this? A vote to keep this agreement is an affirmative decision to continue using county property for surveillance systems. So if you vote to keep it, then justify it. Show Pasco residents what you independently verified, not what the Sheriff's Department told you. Where you believe the limit on government surveillance should be and why this system falls within that limit. If those questions have not been answered, then due diligence has not been done. And if you still
vote to keep it own what that means, this board is affirmatively choosing to use county property as part of a mass surveillance network. My request remains the same. Dissolve.
Yeah, the three minutes is supposed to automatically shut off.
Yeah. Three minutes on the on online we shut it down.
Jeff Cannon, are you ready now?
Yes, I am.
Uh so Jeff Cannon, uh nine one three zero Magnolia Street. I just want to bring up a couple points. Um if you look at the the Axon agreements and the information that they have online, the Sheriff's Office says is ready let readily available to the public. Flock and Axon actually have an agreement to share information with each other. So even if we go to the Axon system, Flock is still going to have access to data through that sharing agreement. Um I also want to point out that
One hundred percent of the time. When the system has been misused and abused, it has been discovered after the fact So, to sit here and say that we don't have any issues in Pasco County, we're not going to know about those issues until after the fact, until after an audit is done. And I want to bring up some points about the effectiveness of the Flock system or the the license plate reader system itself. Reports published by the FBI in mid-2026, highlighting
Atlanta, the home base of flock safety, where over 5,000 cameras blanket the city show that crime-solving metrics remained flat or worsened between 2021 and 2025 despite an eight-fold expansion of the surveillance network. So the FBI has statistics that show that these cameras are not even effective, and we're just everybody's on board with them. Um I'm also concerned about the new AI capabilities that these these systems have. In
one description, an officer opens a chat box and picks from a menu of 69 canned prompts or writes their own. One built-in query lists witnesses as the vehicles most seen in the neighborhood over the past two weeks. Another one finds everyone arrested more than twice in two years, exempting only drug offenses. Then build a dossier on the top three. A workup turns into a name, a birth date, into relatives, phone numbers, and online accounts pulled
from police records and commercial data brokers. Fourteen of the prompts need no plate, name, or description at all. The officer supplies a location, a window of time, and a behavior, a car that hits three retail stores in three days or several banks in a week, and the system returns the people who fit. A filter strips out the buses and delivery van, so ordinary drivers making those rounds stay on the list. The associate finding logic is spelled out in the code. It
counts how often other plates appear at the same cameras within a two minute window of a target car. Flags any of that that shows up three or more times above a.75 confidence score and hands back up to 20 names. So these cameras are definitely tracking people and the AI technology and capabilities that they have in some cases are returning false hits and deputies are pulling over people that maybe the
tag reader system or the AI misread the plate. And they're close. Okay.
Okay, next up is Steve Church Barra.
Just one.
more
after
this.
Is he there?
Steve, you're on?
You're muted, Steve.
On your control.
No, we gotta move on.
Okay, the last one signed up is Ben Franklin.
How appropriate.
He's not there? Press you one more time and then we'll go.
Steve, one more try. You're still muted.
Okay.