By: Mike Fong and Laura Solis, Lower Valley Matters, lowervalleymatters.com
The Granger City Council met and discussed Flock cameras during their workshop session earlier this year on February 10. Councilmember Israel Bustamante brought forward the discussion based on community concerns that ICE and federal enforcement agencies were able to access data from the system. He stated, “I do want us to look into suspending the use of the Flock cameras.”
Flock and other camera technologies have been the subject of significant public debate across the state. Earlier this year, the legislature passed Senate Bill 6002 known as the “Driver Privacy Act” to further protect the privacy rights of individuals. The bill:
- Limits storage of camera data for a maximum of 21 days;
- Bans that data from immigration enforcement;
- Restricts placing cameras near sensitive areas such as schools, places of worship, healthcare clinics and reproductive or immigration services facilities; and
- Exempts the data from public disclosure.
While the state advanced these changes, Prosser had already banned Flock cameras in January. Sunnyside cancelled their mobile Flock camera contract a few weeks ago, but their fixed cameras remain in place.
2027 Budget. In September, the Council will begin their deliberations over whether to continue to pay for Flock cameras in the 2027 budget. The budget process will run through December, and there will be multiple opportunities for public hearings and for the public to offer comments about Flock cameras and other budget priorities.
Workshop Discussion. At the workshop session on February 10, Mayor Hilda González stated that Granger taxpayers currently fund $16,000 for an annual subscription service for the cameras (note: in the 2026 adopted budget book, we could only find a $12,960 line-item for Flock cameras, but there could be additional costs embedded elsewhere). She stated that the option to renew the service would be considered as part of the budget process this fall and that this process would be an appropriate time to consider Councilmember Bustamante’s request.
The Mayor further shared insights from a conference she attended with Councilmembers Bustamante and Juan Isiordia at Yakima Valley Community College with researchers from the Center for Human Rights at the University of Washington. The Center had released findings on Flock and other camera technologies and their risk of potential exposure to federal immigration enforcement. The Mayor noted that there were other license reading camera technologies that were more accessible by enforcement agencies than Flock and that measures were in place to safeguard data from access by Federal law enforcement.
Granger Police Chief Juan Ceja stated that the city restricts its Flock data to Yakima County and nearby police departments. He emphasized the effectiveness of the cameras in local law enforcement operations and investigations, noting “The last drive by we had was solved by the Flock cameras… we were able to put a description of the vehicle into the Flock system and was able to identify the vehicle immediately and were able to trace the vehicle to Toppenish.” He added, “we found the car within 20 minutes.”
Councilmember Bustamante stated “before the Flock cameras came to be a resource to Granger, the Police Department was able to solve these crimes without them. And I’m sure, now that we are fully staffed, we have an equipped team to continue to solve those crimes without the Flock cameras.” He added, “I’m not sure if spending $16,000 of taxpayer dollars because they are paying for this service, if that aligns with the priority of our community right now.”
Councilmember Isiordio responded, “I think priority is safety, and $16,000, I think your life is worth more than that.”
You can watch the Council workshop meeting on this topic here (right around the 29:06 mark): https://reflect-midvalley.cablecast.tv/internetchannel/show/982?site=4
You can read more about the Center for Human Right’s findings at: https://jsis.washington.edu/humanrights/2025/10/21/leaving-the-door-wide-open/
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