The Western Union Municipal Alliance put Flock Safety cameras and development impact fees on the agenda for its Oct. 22 meeting at Wesley Chapel Village Hall, according to the meeting packet posted by the village.

The two new-business items bring issues that several member towns have wrestled with individually to the alliance's multi-municipal table. Meeting outcomes have not yet been published.

WUMA is an alliance of small towns in western Union County. Its meetings are open to the public, according to a post by the Village of Marvin announcing the session.

Flock cameras: a live debate across the Waxhaws

Flock Safety cameras are automated license plate readers that capture plate numbers, vehicle descriptions and timestamps on public roads. The technology has drawn both praise from law enforcement and pushback from residents across the Charlotte region.

Waxhaw's Board of Commissioners held a detailed work session on the topic Sept. 22. Police Chief Dexter Wilson and Sgt. Jeremy Ferguson told the board that Waxhaw operates five fixed cameras at major entry points, according to work session minutes. The system does not perform facial recognition or identify drivers, they said.

Waxhaw retains plate data for 30 days, four times Flock's default seven-day window. Commissioners questioned whether that retention period is appropriate.

Commissioner Richard Daunt proposed a formal policy prohibiting facial recognition and RFID data collection. Commissioner Daniel Farris suggested requiring staff to report any expansion of camera capabilities to the board. Commissioner John Gemignani raised questions about oversight and the process for approving additional cameras. The board directed staff to develop a formal policy for a future work session.

Separately, The Waxhaw Wall reported that Waxhaw's network generates roughly 8 million license plate reads in a typical month. Not all cameras visible around town belong to Waxhaw. Police said cameras at locations such as Walmart, Lowe's and Millbridge are privately operated.

At a Sept. 8 Waxhaw board meeting, resident Franklin Carrillo urged the town to remove its Flock cameras and redirect the funds toward police training, according to meeting minutes.

Other towns' experiences

Wesley Chapel's Village Council discussed Flock cameras at Dogwood Park during its Feb. 9 meeting, according to council minutes. The Union County Sheriff's Office recommended the cameras, but council members asked for the user agreement and usage statistics before proceeding. Mayor Pro Tem Bailey raised concerns about reports of law enforcement using Flock data for immigration enforcement.

In Weddington, Lt. James May of the Union County Sheriff's Office credited a Flock camera along Weddington Matthews Road with helping recover a stolen motorcycle and file felony charges within about two hours, according to May 11 council minutes.

At a June 8 Weddington meeting, Chief Deputy Tony Underwood and Mayor Bell both described the cameras as a force multiplier, according to those meeting minutes.

Regional pushback growing

The WUMA discussion comes as Flock cameras face scrutiny across the Charlotte area. In Monroe, protesters demanded the city terminate its Flock contract, and the city council enacted a transparency measure in response, the Enquirer-Journal reported.

UNC Charlotte limited which agencies can search its Flock network after a WBTV investigation found Houston police had searched the campus system more than 183,000 times between March and May 2026.

Impact fees still unclear

The agenda also listed a "Discussion on Impact Fees Resolution," but the posted packet contained no supporting documents on the item. Impact fees are charges levied on new development to offset the cost of public infrastructure. No details on which municipalities' fees are under discussion or what the resolution would propose have been published.

WUMA's next scheduled meeting is May 27, 2027, at Wesley Chapel Village Hall. Minutes from the Oct. 22 session had not been posted as of Oct. 27.