During the Des Moines City Council meeting on Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026, city leaders tackled a mix of high-tech public safety concerns and administrative updates.
A significant portion of the session was dedicated to the city’s use of Flock license plate cameras, with Police Chief Ted Boe providing a comprehensive history of the program to address community questions about surveillance and data privacy.
The council moved forward with several structural changes, including the appointment of seven residents to a newly established Planning Commission and the creation of an independent Salary Commission, a new body that will review council compensation for the first time in over 25 years.
Flock Camera Concerns Addressed
A couple of public commenters shared their takes on Flock license plate cameras. One advocated for transparency and privacy around sharing footage with third parties. Another speaker said he felt the cameras were a valuable tool for public safety, and that the cameras’ privacy guidelines help to ensure responsible usage of data.
Police Chief Ted Boe then gave a presentation on Flock cameras, including a little history on how they came to be used in Des Moines. Chief Boe said it has been a very public process, with council discussions and public presentations starting in 2022 by then Police Chief Thomas, as part of his Highway Safety Transit Plan. The cameras have been brought up and addressed at several public meetings since then.
The city has had 15 Flock cameras in various locations since June 2023. The images from these cameras are run through a “hot list” of wanted plates, and if the license isn’t on that list, the footage is automatically purged within 30 days. Boe said the images are impossible to be used for facial recognition or racial profiling, as images are of the back of the vehicle.
Chief Boe said this tool is a force multiplier for officers, who simply could not manually track as many plates as the cameras can. Police use the flagged plates to locate things like missing people and stolen vehicles. Boe said that while stolen vehicles might not be the highest priority crime, people who have committed violent crimes are often driving stolen vehicles.
Since November, Des Moines Flock cameras have disabled all national search capability. Only Washington State law enforcement can access the images. The footage is very secure; Chief Boe said they have already been audited and found to be in compliance with data protection requirements. Boe said it would take an internal agent to access the footage, and anyone found to be guilty of internal violations would lose their job and face jail time.
Planning Commission Appointees
The council had 15 qualified applicants to choose from for the new seven member Planning Commission. They generally wanted people who lived in the city and were not already serving on another board. Appointees include: Danielle Anderson, Traci Buxton, Chuck Coleman, Michelle Curry, Barton DeLacy, Colleen Grants, and Nicole Gunkle.
Potential New Council Compensation Structure
The council voted 6:1 to create a new salary commission. This is an independent body that will be responsible for meeting every two years to determine the appropriate compensation for the council. Currently, councilmembers are compensated $250 for each meeting, for up to 40 meetings per year, with the mayor receiving $350 per meeting. This rate has not been updated since 1999. Councilmember JC Harris was the one no vote, expressing that he thought creating another commission was a colossal waste of staff time.
