Township Committee — August 6, 2026

What happened

Three members were present: Mayor Singh and Committee Members Martin and Herring. Deputy Mayor Taylor Todd and Committee Member Ahn were absent. The meeting opened with a proclamation for former Deputy Mayor Vince Barragan, a Lions Club donation to the food pantry and a student recognition.

The Flock presentation. At about 23:23 the Mayor introduced a presentation on the police department’s automated license-plate recognition (ALPR) cameras, made “in response to the Committee’s request” (uncorrected captions). Lieutenant Andy Perry gave it. According to the presentation:

• History and cost. The department began with a 2022 memorandum giving it access to plate data captured by other agencies, bought four fixed cameras and one movable camera in September 2023, and added fixed cameras in November 2024 and September 2025. It now runs six fixed cameras and one battery-powered camera it can move between investigations. The cameras are leased, not owned, at $3,000 a year each ($3,500 for the movable one), plus $500 a camera for the three-year storage the state requires: about $25,000 a year in total, including maintenance.
• What it records. Each camera reads a passing plate and part of the vehicle, timestamps it and checks it against lists of stolen vehicles, wanted people, Amber Alerts and missing persons. The department says it has no facial recognition, collects no phone or Bluetooth data and is not used for traffic enforcement.
• Rules. Searches need a valid case number, a reason and a justification. Users must be authorized and retrained every two years. An annual audit of searches goes to the State Police by the end of January. The lieutenant said state law bars sharing the data for civil immigration enforcement or to interfere with reproductive health care. The department said it shares data only with New Jersey agencies, not federal ones or agencies outside the state.
• Transparency. A public portal, linked from the police page, shows the department’s policy, camera count, searches in the last 30 days and plate reads.
• Results. The lieutenant listed 2026 cases the system helped with: a stolen U-Haul recovered, an out-of-state fugitive located, a driver who fled officers identified, witnesses found for a serious crash, and several smaller matters.

Questions. Committee Member Martin read questions from the absent Committee Member Ahn: how misuse seen in other departments is prevented, whether use is limited to stolen property, whether retention could be cut to six months, where the data is stored, and how outside access is limited. The answers were that any violation must be reported in the audit and would go to Internal Affairs and the State Police; that the system can be used in any criminal investigation; that the three-year retention is set by the Attorney General and the township cannot change it; and that the data is held in Flock’s cloud, under security standards vetted by the State Police. Martin asked whether the system was worth its cost; the lieutenant said yes.

Committee Member Herring cited the transparency portal: 252,000 plates read in Montgomery in the last 30 days, and asked whether a driver passing several cameras is in effect being tracked. The lieutenant answered that the system holds “plates, not people,” with a time and camera location. The township attorney asked whether the department tracks at random or only looks “when there’s a need to look”; the answer was that a case number and justification are required and audited. The police chief closed by calling the cost “a very small price to pay for the safety of this community.”

Public comment. At about 1:24:27, the minutes record, Biren Saraiya thanked the police and asked what share of searches is audited and whether the audit is internal or done by the Attorney General’s office. The Mayor reminded speakers that public comment is not a question-and-answer session. Other speakers addressed ranked-choice voting and solar installations on township property.

No resolution about the cameras was on the agenda, and no vote was taken.

Why it matters

This is the most detailed public account so far of how Montgomery’s license-plate cameras work, what they cost and what limits apply. Several of the limits that matter most, such as the three-year retention and who may receive data, are set by the state, not by the township. What the township controls is the number of cameras, where they go and whether to keep the lease.

Worth watching

• The presentation begins (25:37)
• Retention and storage (45:06)
• 252,000 plates in 30 days (51:10)
• The township attorney’s question on random tracking (52:30)
• Public comment (1:24:27)

Sources

• The township’s archive: August 6, 2026 Township Committee meeting video and transcript. Quotations from the video come from uncorrected closed captions, and timestamps are approximate.
• Township Committee minutes, August 6, 2026
• Township Committee agenda, August 6, 2026