Ballot Initiative Petition

Give residents a vote on Flock

DeFlock Conroe is a nonpartisan group of Conroe residents petitioning to put the City’s Flock license-plate camera program to a public vote. We’re not against public safety, we’re for residents having a say in how it’s done.

1,000 signatures from registered Conroe voters puts a binding public referendum on the City’s Flock license-plate camera program on the ballot. We’re aiming for the May 2027 election.

Why This Petition

Council already said no

On August 13, 2026, Conroe City Council voted to block a resident-led referendum on the Flock program from reaching the ballot, denying voters a direct say on a surveillance program they were never told about when it started.

The program has been running since 2021, starting with a 19-camera pilot. Council approved the current five-year contract in September 2024. The actual invoiced terms: 51 cameras, $127,500 a year, $637,500 total, running through 2029, all without a single resident vote of any kind.

A citizen advisory committee to study the program was proposed and then tabled indefinitely at the same July 23, 2026 meeting it was introduced. No oversight committee was ever formed. The contract continued uninterrupted.

If council won’t let residents vote on it, residents can force the question onto the ballot themselves. That’s what this petition does.

Want to understand how Flock’s camera network works more broadly, beyond Conroe? deflock.org is an independent resource worth a look. We’re not affiliated with it, but it’s a good reference.

Where They Are

111 cameras mapped, 91% Flock Safety

As of this screenshot, DeFlock’s volunteer contributors had documented 111 automated license plate readers in and around Conroe, the large majority of them Flock Safety units. Each dot is a camera someone physically located and logged, not an estimate.

DeFlock crowdsourced map showing automated license plate reader camera locations clustered around Conroe, TX, with 111 cameras in view, 91% identified as Flock Safety

Click to zoom

Map and data: DeFlock.org, an open-source, volunteer-powered project. We are not affiliated with it. Camera locations come from OpenStreetMap contributors, not a private company or government agency, and can change as volunteers add or correct entries.

Explore It Yourself

Live, interactive map

This is the real DeFlock map, embedded live below. Use the search box to jump to your own street and see what’s nearby, or pan and zoom around Conroe directly.

Trouble loading? Open the map in a new tab instead.

How We Got Here

19 cameras became 51, one contract at a time

Every expansion was approved by council. None was put to a resident vote. Sourced to the city’s own council packets, budgets, and contemporaneous reporting.

Dec 2020–Jan 2021 19 cameras: the initial test Click to open sourceConroe PD tests Flock; council moves toward initial deployment. Contemporaneous reporting cited about $98,000 for the 19-camera system.Source: Houston Chronicle

Mar 2022 22 cameras: first Flock contract Click to open sourceCouncil approves a two-year Flock contract covering installation and maintenance at 22 locations.Source: The Courier of Montgomery County

Jun 2022 32 cameras: grant-funded expansion Click to open source10 more cameras added via a $20,000 grant, $5,000 city match, and $3,500 installation.Source: Conroe City Council meeting packet

Jan 12, 2023 TxDOT right-of-way authorization Click to open sourceCouncil approves a resolution letting Flock seek Texas Department of Transportation permission to mount cameras already in use since 2021 on state highway right-of-way, not a new purchase or contract. Some 2026 reporting has mischaracterized this as the origin of the current 5-year agreement.Source: Community Impact, Jan. 12, 2023

2023 44 cameras: city budget confirms it Click to open sourceCity financial records show a $66,000 line item for 44 Falcon cameras, plus a separate $28,500 Flock LPR line.Source: Conroe City Council agenda packet

Sep 12, 2024 51 cameras: 3 contracts combined into one 5-year deal Click to open sourceCouncil approves the contract still running today: $127,500 a year, $637,500 over five years, through 2029, combining three earlier Flock contracts into one. Still no resident vote.Source: Conroe City Council payment record, confirming the 09-12-24 approval date

Aug 2025 Crime Reduction Unit created Click to open sourceConroe PD forms the unit; it logs 202 arrests by June 2026, 84 of them involving Flock.Source: Community Impact

Jun 11, 2026 Chief Buckholtz presents to council Click to open sourceAmid months of resident pressure and records requests, the chief defends the program: 14.4 million plate reads and 1,733 department searches in the prior 30 days.Source: Community Impact

Jul 13, 2026 Texas AG rules Conroe must release records Click to open sourceResponding to a resident’s records request, the Attorney General rules the city can’t withhold basic information about how Flock provides its service.Source: Houston Chronicle

Jul 23, 2026 Council tables a committee and a ballot inquiry Click to open sourceUnanimously tables both a proposed citizen advisory committee on ALPR use and a request for legal research into a possible public vote. Neither returns with a date set.Source: ABC13 Houston

Aug 13, 2026 Council rejects the November ballot, 3-2 Click to open sourceA resident petition had passed 1,500 signatures. Council still votes down putting a Flock referendum on the ballot; Sellars, Blevins, and Hoisington vote no, Harrell and Arthur vote yes.Source: ABC13 Houston

Sep 10, 2026 Budget adopted, Flock funding intact, 3-2 Click to open sourceBlevins, Hoisington, and Sellars vote for the budget as written. Harrell and Arthur vote no.Source: KPRC Click2Houston