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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Providence City Council Ways and Means Committee Meeting - May 1, 2026

City Council — Friday, May 1, 2026

BodyProvidence, Rhode Island

SessionCity Council

DateFriday, May 1, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 1:17:38

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

4:04

Okay.

4:09

On Kong or regular leaning or agenda at four thirty-one on Friday May first.

4:16

Chair Andrew Boss.

4:17

I'm here.

4:18

Vice Chair Sanchez.

4:20

Councilman Espinon.

4:27

We have a quarter.

4:28

Thank you so much.

4:29

Um, and I know we were joined by um special guests tonight.

4:32

So I want to uh guess this going.

4:34

Um, just think of the office for ways and dare this with the uh muscle.

4:42

Um I just want to share that we will be taking public comments.

4:47

We're gonna move that to the middle.

4:49

So between one and two, so we can comment on both one and the uh ordinance.

4:54

Um if folks want to sign off require a comment, there is a sign sheet by the TV.

5:00

But if folks want to sign up for public comment, there is a sign-in sheet by the TV, and I will be going off people who've signed in at the sign in sheet by the big TV.

5:05

So if you do want to give public comment, sign in sheet and their TV.

5:08

Okay, just make sure anyone else sign and she felt okay.

5:12

Um can we please then read item number one into the record?

5:16

Discussion relative to the human right to privacy report on flock surveillance in Providence, Rhode Island.

5:22

The following have been invited for a presentation.

5:24

Students from Professor Robin Lynx 34 Human Rights course at Rhode Island College Department of Political Science.

5:33

Awesome.

5:33

So Professor Lynd is a constituent of mine and amazing, and her class has been researching Flock, and that comes up in so many of our conversations.

5:41

Um we do currently have a contract with Flock that's up to expire in the next council session, and so I'm just really grateful that the class wanted to look into this and provide us with some information.

5:51

So I'd love to invite Professor Lynde and her uh students up to give the presentation with gratitude for you being here.

5:57

Welcome to City Hall.

5:58

Y'all are also welcome at City Hall any time.

6:01

We would love to have you whenever.

6:02

This is for you.

6:04

So Professor Lynn, take it.

6:05

Yes, I just want to thank everyone for letting us take up some of your committee time to do this.

6:08

And um, all the credit goes to my students.

6:12

I think I can come up and present.

6:13

And we had it set up for the um for the PowerPoint.

6:18

Oh, yeah, there's you have the current point and when the students present, if you could just say your name clearly for the record so the clerks can get it, or you can write it down for them, whichever works better.

6:29

Um, but come on up, come join us at the table.

6:32

Or stand, whatever feels better for you.

6:34

We are totally flex.

6:36

So if you want to stand, if you want to sit, you're welcome to be at the table with us.

6:39

But you're also welcome to stand.

6:43

We're just grateful that you're here.

6:49

Oh, please work.

6:50

So, hi, we're so glad you're all here.

6:52

And uh, since we don't have amplification, even though it's a small room, I have a hearing disability, so I'm gonna ask you to be real loud.

6:58

Sounds great because I don't want to miss a word.

7:00

Yeah, how do you have voice?

7:01

Yeah, yeah.

7:02

Okay.

7:05

Okay, hi.

7:06

My name is Abigail Spampinado.

7:08

Uh, thank you for your time this afternoon.

7:10

We'll be talking about the human right to privacy through our report on the flock surveillance cameras.

7:20

So, this project was developed in our human rights class taught by Dr.

7:23

Lindy.

7:24

Together we explored both global and local human rights issues through various case studies.

7:30

We focused our studies on the local issue of flock cameras here in Providence.

7:34

Our class was split into five groups.

7:37

It was the data, policy, case studies, GIS, and writing and analysis group.

7:42

So our central goal for this flock project was to provide the city of Providence with information and hopes that it could be taken into any sort of consideration once the contract comes up next year.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Public Safety█████████████████████████25%

Technology And Innovation███████████████████████23%

Technology and Innovation█████████████████████21%

Climate Justice Planning█████████████13%

Procurement Process█████5%

Procedural████4%

Racial Equity███3%

Budget Equity Analysis███3%

Public Engagement██2%

Summary of Proceedings

Ways and Means Committee Meeting - May 1, 2026

The Providence City Council Ways and Means Committee met at 4:31 PM on Friday, May 1, 2026, chaired by Chair Andrew Boss. The agenda included a presentation on Flock surveillance cameras by Rhode Island College students and consideration of an ordinance to create a green revolving fund for energy projects. Public comment was heard on both items.

Public Comments

Aisling Hanley (Program Director, Climate Jobs Rhode Island) expressed strong support for the green revolving fund ordinance, calling it a major step in turning climate planning into action and creating a self-sustaining national example.
Randall Rose (Rhode Islanders for Personal Privacy) raised concerns about Flock cameras, including data sharing with federal agencies, weak privacy protections, lack of controlled studies showing crime reduction, cybersecurity vulnerabilities, and warned against taking Flock's claims at face value.

Discussion Items

1. Presentation on Flock Surveillance Cameras

Students from Professor Robin Lynd's human rights course at Rhode Island College presented research on Flock ALPR cameras in Providence. Key points:

Background: Flock is a private contractor; Providence has a three-year $600,000 grant-funded contract expiring soon.
Data findings: 2,250 total searches in Providence dataset, including 6,600 from federal agencies outside New England. 12 searches specifically mentioned border control. Many search reasons are vague (e.g., "investigation").
Maps: Cameras are disproportionately located in lower-income (household income ≤$70,000) and Hispanic neighborhoods. The 10 most Hispanic neighborhoods have 28 cameras vs. 12 in the 10 least Hispanic neighborhoods.
Policy concerns: Current retention is 30 days; no facial recognition but data shared across jurisdictions. No existing MOUs with all sharing partners. Federal agencies may access data via "side door" through other police departments.
Case studies: Austin, TX canceled contract due to targeting vulnerable populations; Seattle area found data shared with ICE via backdoor access. Rhode Island has no state privacy protections for ALPRs.
Budget: Public safety budget increased $7.2 million in FY2025-26 while housing and human services saw cuts.
Effectiveness: No controlled studies show Flock cameras make communities safer.

Council members asked clarifying questions about data leaks, intentional vagueness of search reasons, and challenges of oversight. Councilman Sanchez noted that Austin ultimately concluded no safeguards were sufficient and moved to prohibit the cameras. Chairwoman acknowledged the presentation and thanked the students.

2. Ordinance Establishing a Green Revolving Fund (Item 3)

Priscilla and David (city energy division) presented the ordinance to amend Chapter 5 to add Article 13, creating a green revolving fund for energy efficiency and decarbonization in city buildings. Key points:

The fund will be seeded with savings from completed efficiency projects and federal incentives. A $250,000 grant from Coalition for Green Capital funded technical analysis with the Sustainable Endowment Institute.
Projects include solar installations (12 sites analyzed) and building management systems. Savings will be recycled back into the fund.
The ordinance is tied to the 2023 energy efficiency and carbon neutrality ordinance, which includes labor standards and local hire requirements. Example: a solar vendor worked with IBEW due to these provisions.
Urgency: Federal tax credits (ITC) may expire by June 30, 2026, so quick passage is needed to capitalize.

A minor amendment was proposed to correct a date in the purpose section from "2020" to "2019" for the climate justice plan.

Key Outcomes

Motion to amend: Approved (no opposition) to change the date reference from 2020 to 2019 in the purpose section.
Motion to approve as amended: Seconded and passed unanimously. The ordinance will proceed to the full City Council for first passage at the next meeting (Thursday).
Motion to adjourn: Approved. Meeting adjourned.

Meeting Transcript

Okay. On Kong or regular leaning or agenda at four thirty-one on Friday May first. Chair Andrew Boss. I'm here. Vice Chair Sanchez. Councilman Espinon. We have a quarter. Thank you so much. Um, and I know we were joined by um special guests tonight. So I want to uh guess this going. Um, just think of the office for ways and dare this with the uh muscle. Um I just want to share that we will be taking public comments. We're gonna move that to the middle. So between one and two, so we can comment on both one and the uh ordinance. Um if folks want to sign off require a comment, there is a sign sheet by the TV. But if folks want to sign up for public comment, there is a sign-in sheet by the TV, and I will be going off people who've signed in at the sign in sheet by the big TV. So if you do want to give public comment, sign in sheet and their TV. Okay, just make sure anyone else sign and she felt okay. Um can we please then read item number one into the record? Discussion relative to the human right to privacy report on flock surveillance in Providence, Rhode Island. The following have been invited for a presentation. Students from Professor Robin Lynx 34 Human Rights course at Rhode Island College Department of Political Science. Awesome. So Professor Lynd is a constituent of mine and amazing, and her class has been researching Flock, and that comes up in so many of our conversations. Um we do currently have a contract with Flock that's up to expire in the next council session, and so I'm just really grateful that the class wanted to look into this and provide us with some information. So I'd love to invite Professor Lynde and her uh students up to give the presentation with gratitude for you being here. Welcome to City Hall. Y'all are also welcome at City Hall any time. We would love to have you whenever. This is for you. So Professor Lynn, take it. Yes, I just want to thank everyone for letting us take up some of your committee time to do this. And um, all the credit goes to my students. I think I can come up and present. And we had it set up for the um for the PowerPoint. Oh, yeah, there's you have the current point and when the students present, if you could just say your name clearly for the record so the clerks can get it, or you can write it down for them, whichever works better. Um, but come on up, come join us at the table. Or stand, whatever feels better for you. We are totally flex. So if you want to stand, if you want to sit, you're welcome to be at the table with us. But you're also welcome to stand. We're just grateful that you're here. Oh, please work. So, hi, we're so glad you're all here. And uh, since we don't have amplification, even though it's a small room, I have a hearing disability, so I'm gonna ask you to be real loud. Sounds great because I don't want to miss a word. Yeah, how do you have voice? Yeah, yeah. Okay. Okay, hi.

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