Conroe voted 3-2 to keep funding its 51 Flock Safety license plate-reading cameras, adding to a regional split over the surveillance technology as League City voters prepare for their own Nov. 3 referendum.

Conroe City Council approved its fiscal year 2026-27 budget Friday, Sept. 11, leaving Flock camera funding intact, Click2Houston reported. Conroe Police Chief Jon Buckholtz told council the 51 cameras have recorded approximately 894,000 unique scans. Police searched about 642 of those scans.

"That's not mass surveillance," Buckholtz said. "This is effective use of a tool for law enforcement."

The search-to-scan ratio works out to roughly 0.07 percent.

Buckholtz did not specify the time period the figures cover. Council members Ken Blevins, Kristin Hoisington and Mayor Pro Tem John Sellars voted for the budget. Councilman David Harrell and Councilwoman Shana Arthur voted against it, citing Flock concerns along with broader objections to city finances and spending.

Harrell and Arthur, who had placed the Flock discussion on the agenda, asked the council to pause camera funding for additional review. Harrell pointed to a non-appropriation clause he said allows Conroe to stop funding the system without penalty. He acknowledged he previously voted to approve the Flock agreement but said the council "didn't have all of the facts at that time … and the magnitude of the program."

Mayor Duke Coon backed the police chief publicly, saying he wanted his support "on the record."

The Conroe vote lands in the middle of a regional split over the cameras. As we reported Sept. 10, Manvel voted unanimously the same week to end its 21-camera Flock program, and Willis shut down its system pending a council review. Kemah City Council directed staff on Sept. 2 to investigate the financial impact of removing its cameras but made no decision.

League City's situation is larger. The city has 55 active Flock cameras, with 16 more awaiting Texas Department of Transportation permits. Council voted 6-1 on Aug. 11 to place a nonbinding advisory referendum on the November ballot. The ballot question asks whether the League City Police Department should continue using automated license plate reader cameras on public roadways.

League City's cameras aided 305 criminal investigations since July 2025 and helped recover about $1 million in stolen property, according to city data reported by Click2Houston. The city's Flock data is shared with 436 Texas law-enforcement agencies and the FBI. League City says it does not share data with ICE, Border Patrol or private organizations.

Mayor Nick Long called the debate "I think, a perfect issue to take to the voters" at the Aug. 11 council meeting, according to KGTX 7. Long has proposed a citizen-led accountability committee and an online transparency portal showing camera locations and access frequency if voters choose to keep the cameras.

Flock Safety CEO Garrett Langley announced in August that the company would shorten its default data retention period from 30 days to seven days. Law enforcement searches will require case codes by the end of 2026.

The referendum is nonbinding. Council retains the final decision on whether to keep or remove the cameras. League City's November ballot also includes mayoral and council elections.