Lake City council votes against referendum on license plate readers

LAKE CITY, Fla. (WCJB) - The Lake City Council voted 3-2 Monday against a resolution that would have placed a non-binding referendum on automatic license plate readers on the November ballot.

Council Member James Carter introduced the resolution, which would have asked residents whether they want city-owned license plate readers in Lake City. Carter said the issue is culturally significant enough to warrant a ballot question. He also said voting against the resolution sends a message that the council is not interested in what residents have to say.

Several residents attended the meeting and raised privacy concerns, but the majority of the council was not persuaded.

Council members debate technology’s role

Councilor Chavella Young spoke in support of the technology and noted its role in reducing gun violence in Lake City. Council Member Ricky Jernigan rejected Carter’s characterization of the no vote and voted against the resolution alongside Young and Councilor Tammy Harris.

Police chief defends camera program

Lake City Police Chief Gerald Butler was called to the podium during the meeting. He listed cases where the cameras helped catch criminals, including a Marion County Amber Alert from last week, and said numerous safeguards are in place to prevent misuse.

Butler said city-owned Flock cameras only point at streets. He acknowledged, however, that the same cannot necessarily be said for cameras operated by other agencies, and he mentioned a state-owned Flock camera located near a gun range in Lake City.

“No court with jurisdiction has determined that a license plate reader system is a violation of the Fourth Amendment,” Butler said. “When they do, the Lake City Police Department will immediately alter our processes to conform to whatever that court’s jurisdiction says needs to be done.”

Gun owner raises constitutional concerns

Gun owner Mark Eshbaug raised concerns about the state-owned camera near the gun range.

“A camera is still a camera — much like this camera is capturing me, those cameras are capturing not only details about a car but details about everything,” Eshbaug said. “If one section of the range is in view of the camera, they could essentially see you participating in your constitutionally protected right.”

The 3-2 vote means Lake City residents will not have a non-binding referendum on Flock cameras in the November election.

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