Exhibit 1 - Agenda Information SheetCity of Denton
_____________________________________________________________________________________
AGENDA INFORMATION SHEET
DEPARTMENT: Procurement
ACM: Cassey Ogden
DATE: January 14, 2025
SUBJECT
Consider adoption of an ordinance of the City of Denton, a Texas home-rule municipal corporation,
authorizing the City Manager to execute a contract with Flock Group Inc, for the purchase of a fixed
License Plate Recognition (LPR) System for the Police Department, which is the sole provider of this
software, in accordance with Texas Local Government Code 252.022, which provides that procurement of
commodities and services that are available from one source are exempt from competitive bidding, and if
over $50,000, shall be awarded by the governing body; providing for the expenditure of funds therefor;
and providing an effective date (File 8701 – awarded to Flock Group Inc, for three (3) years, with the
option for two (2) additional one (1) year extensions, in the total five (5) year not-to-exceed amount of
$311,600.00).
STRATEGIC ALIGNMENT
This action supports Key Focus Area: Support Healthy and Safe Communities.
INFORMATION/BACKGROUND
In 2010, the department began using license plate recognition (LPR) technology. The first deployment
was with cameras mounted to police vehicles. LPR technology captures license plates and checks them
against an agency and state-generated “hot list.” The “hot list” might contain reported stolen vehicles,
vehicles associated with wanted persons, vehicles associated with missing persons, silver alerts, or Amber
alerts. The system does not obtain any owner information from state databases. That search would be
done separately by the officer.
The initial deployment of LPR technology came at a significant expense. It costs about $15K per unit on
the road. The department has never had more than 3 units with LPR systems deployed. This was mainly
due to cost and maintenance.
Flock Safety began operations in 2017. Flock Safety occupies a unique niche in the marketplace. They
began deploying cameras in fixed locations versus mounted on vehicles. The cameras cost less when
compared to vehicle-mounted systems. The cameras could also be sold to private entities that could
choose to share data with law enforcement or not share. The data sharing with Flock Safety is only one
way. Information can be shared with law enforcement, but data is not shared between or with private
entities.
City Hall
215 E. McKinney Street
Denton, Texas
www.cityofdenton.com
The department has been using the Flock Safety database for several years. Flock Safety has offered this
database for free. The department has benefited from 40 DFW area law enforcement agencies putting data
into the system as well as some private entities. Flock Safety just announced that it will no longer allow
agencies without a subscription to access their database for free.
The department has used the Flock Safety database to solve multiple crimes and hold offenders
accountable. This is central to our mission. This is an important resource that we do not want to lose. The
cost to deploy 10 cameras is roughly the same price as only subscribing to the database. This makes the
10 cameras an ideal pilot to test their usefulness in Denton while also maintaining access to the database
that continues to help solve crime in Denton.
The Flock Safety cameras are infrastructure-free. This means that they do not require a power source from
the City of Denton. They also have wireless access to the internet to upload data to the Flock Safety
database. The cameras are also leased, so Flock Safety will be responsible for mounting the cameras and
maintaining them. The data generated will belong solely to the Denton Police Department. It will be
stored in a secure cloud environment that is compliant with law enforcement security standards.
Projected Spend
Fiscal Year FY 2024-
25*
FY 2025-
26
FY 2026-
27**
FY 2027-
28
FY 2028-
29** Total
Annual Contract $35,500 $30,000 $65,500 $60,000 $95,500 $286,500
10% Buffer 3,000 6,550 6,000 9,550 25,100
Grand Total $35,500 $33,000 $72,050 $66,000 $105,050 $311,600
*Start with 10 cameras
**Increase 10 cameras in years 3 and 5
Section 252.022 of the Local Government Code provides that procurement of sole source commodities
and services are exempt from competitive bidding, if over $50,000, shall be awarded by the governing
body.
RECOMMENDATION
Award with a contract to Flock Group Inc., as a sole source supplier, for the purchase of the fixed License
Plate Recognition (LPR) System for the Police Department, in a three (3) year, with the option for two (2)
additional one (1) year extensions, in the total five (5) year not-to-exceed amount of $311,600.
PRINCIPAL PLACE OF BUSINESS
Flock Group Inc
Atlanta, GA
ESTIMATED SCHEDULE OF PROJECT
This is an initial three (3) year contract with options to extend the contract for two (2) additional one (1)
year periods, with all terms and conditions remaining the same.
FISCAL INFORMATION
These products and services will be funded through the Police Confiscated Fund 309800.7804 for Year 1
and Police Technology Operating Budget 830003.7804 for the remaining years. Requisition #168236 has
been entered into the Purchasing software system in the amount of $35,500. The budgeted amount for this
item is $311,600.
EXHIBITS
Exhibit 1: Agenda Information Sheet
Exhibit 2: Ordinance and Contract
Respectfully submitted:
Lori Hewell, 940-349-7100
Purchasing Manager
For information concerning this acquisition, contact: Tiffany Wei, 940-349-7816.
Legal point of contact: Marcella Lunn at 940-349-8333.