Monterey County supervisors will vote Tuesday, Sept. 22, on a scaled-back $1.7 million contract for the Sheriff's Office's Flock Safety surveillance cameras.

The revised proposal covers the county's 63 existing Flock cameras, Monterey County NOW reported Monday, Sept. 21. That is a significant reduction from the original proposal on the Aug. 25 board agenda, which sought $2.78 million over 10 years for 103 cameras and would have added 40 new units across unincorporated Monterey County.

No source has explained the reduction. The hearing begins at 1:30 p.m. in the Board Chambers at 168 W. Alisal St. in Salinas.

The government center itself reopens Tuesday at 8 a.m. after a nearly three-week closure. County spokesperson Nick Pasculli said a sewer malfunction in a first-floor employee bathroom forced the shutdown, which was then extended by a fire sprinkler leak. County officials moved services online or to neighboring buildings during the closure.

How the vote was delayed

Supervisors originally planned to vote on the Flock contract Aug. 25. More than 50 people spoke during public comment that day, and none supported the proposal, according to Voices of Monterey Bay. Supervisor Wendy Root Askew said at the Aug. 25 meeting that she received more than 400 comments, "most of them strongly opposed to the Flock contract," as the Monterey Herald reported.

Supervisor Luis Alejo announced the postponement at that meeting, saying the sheriff had received more than 30 questions and needed time to answer them.

Sheriff Tina Nieto said in an Aug. 28 statement that the item would return Sept. 22. She called the cameras "an investigative tool, not continuous surveillance of individuals," in a Sept. 4 email to Voices of Monterey Bay.

The county's existing Flock agreement expired July 25. The 63 cameras currently in place serve jurisdictions including King City, Greenfield, Soledad, Salinas, Marina, Monterey, Pacific Grove, Seaside and Carmel, according to the Herald.

Opposition organizes

A "Get the Flock Out!" protest organized by Roots of Resistance drew about 30 people to downtown Salinas on Sept. 15, The Lutrinae reported. Korina McKinley, a clinical social worker who founded the group, told Monterey County NOW the cameras go far beyond red-light cameras. Roots of Resistance and PG Progressives have formed a Monterey County chapter of Get the Flock Out, pledging to challenge the cameras at every city council in the county.

Colleen Ingram, a Roots of Resistance member and co-founder of PG Progressives, said at the Sept. 15 protest that the group plans to "take this same fight to every city council in Monterey County," according to The Lutrinae.

Monterey County NOW also reported that the Sheriff's Office shared Flock data with law enforcement agencies in other states in 2025, which the outlet described as a breach of California Senate Bill 34.

Sheriff's Office spokesperson Eric Bixler defended the technology in comments published by The Lutrinae on Sept. 21, citing a case involving a dead newborn and a missing 14-year-old girl. "I can say without that information we received from that camera, we may have never solved that case," Bixler said.

What else is on the agenda

Earlier Tuesday at 10:30 a.m., supervisors are expected to extend the local emergency proclamation tied to the Moss Landing battery storage plant fire and discuss a proposed no-parking zone south of the Point Lobos State Natural Reserve entrance along Highway 1.

Residents can attend the hearing in person, watch via Zoom or submit comments by email to [email protected].