The Knox County Sheriff's Office already bought the Flock Safety surveillance cameras it wants to use for its new Advanced Communications Center hub, and some have been installed in the eastern part of the county.
But the sheriff's office could hit a huge roadblock if county commissioners decide not to approve future service contracts with the company that runs them.
When the sheriff's department bought the cameras using state grant money, Knox News has learned, it entered into a 10-year agreement with Flock Safety for its services. KCSO leaders didn't tell the county officials who approve their budget how much the agreement will cost beyond the first year, or what other services it plans to buy from Flock Safety to spin up its surveillance hub.
Year one of KCSO's agreement costs $800,000 and is for "Flock Safety Bundle and Flock Safety Professional Services," according to a purchasing order obtained by Knox News. Knox County Procurement Director Mandi Benedict said her office has not been a part of discussions regarding the cost and details of the contract for years two through 10.
We don't know how much more money KCSO plans to spend on the surveillance center and what other services or products it plans to buy from Flock Safety because department representatives haven't answered questions.
Flock cameras spur communitywide discussion
The new surveillance hub and license plate reader system has come under intense scrutiny from elected officials, in part because Sheriff Tom Spangler hasn't explained his plans or provided information to the community on how the data will be used.
KCSO officials didn't tell county commissioners or Mayor Glenn Jacobs about their plans to build a control room to view footage and store data from cameras and license plate readers until July 6 even though the cameras were purchased April 20, according to records obtained by Knox News.
Knox County Commissioner Adam Thompson said he had been asking about the cameras for weeks before KCSO responded.
After the pushback, Spangler agreed not to operate the cameras during his term, which ends Sept. 1.
It'll be up to Spangler's successor to determine what happens next, and the new sheriff must get buy-in from commissioners and the mayor for major service purchases.
Thompson and Jacobs both said they would have denied the funding had they known KCSO would be working with Flock Safety. At their July 27 meeting, the commission unanimously voted to ask Spangler to pause the rollout of the communications center until KCSO shares more information about sensitive data use, storage and sharing.
In August, before Spangler's successor takes over, the commission is set to vote on an ordinance from Thompson that would ban surveillance cameras, Thompson told Knox News.
Knox News received "out of office" messages from KCSO spokesperson Kimberly Glenn and attorney Houston Havasy in response to questions sent this week about the agreement with Flock Safety. Glenn responded late July 30 that KCSO attorney Hugh Holt or chief financial officer Allison Rogers are out of office "for the remainder of the week" and would answer questions about the agreement when they return. Rogers responded she would answer questions on July 31.
Former Capt. Aaron Yarnell, who made the agreement with Flock Safety, did not respond to a phone call and text message from Knox News. Yarnell retired after he was indicted on federal corruption charges.
Future of Flock Safety in Knox County
On July 20, Glenn told reporters the center was paid for with a $1.5 million state grant but didn't say how the leftover $700,000 will be used. She also didn't say how KCSO will pay for ongoing operations at the surveillance center beyond the $700,000 left from the grant.
KCSO has not disclosed the terms of its agreement with Flock Safety, including whether the deal is for just equipment or if it includes professional services.
County departments, including independently elected officials, buy equipment and services by asking the procurement department to write a purchase order. Sometimes purchase orders include service contracts, and sometimes they don't, Benedict said.
The request for the purchase order KCSO submitted did not include a service contract with Flock Safety. KCSO only gave the procurement department an order form for "Flock Safety Bundle and Flock Safety Professional Services" including equipment.
The original deal with Flock was for one year and cost $800,000. KCSO then asked the procurement department to update its order to say the deal was for year one of 10.
Equipment purchases don't need to go before the commission and mayor, but service contracts over $100,000 do, according to the county charter.
The commission or mayor could block a future service agreement, and KCSO would be stuck without the partnership it needs for its communications center.
Additionally, the mayor determines the budget for the sheriff's department and the commission approves it. Future mayors and commissioners could withhold funding from the department overall if they disagree with a camera policy.
How KCSO worked with Flock Safety without mayor or commissioners knowing
Yarnell used a tool in the county's procurement rules called a cooperative purchasing agreement to strike a deal with Flock Safety without the knowledge of other elected officials.
Cooperative purchasing agreements allow local governments to adopt contracts already negotiated by other local governments so they don't have to take on their own competitive bidding process.
Tennessee law allows the county to "piggyback" off contracts from other municipalities if the county commission approves a cooperative agreement. For the Flock Safety contract, KCSO used a contract from a Houston-basedregional educational center.
Independently elected offices run by leaders such as the sheriff don't need to get the commission and mayor's approval for products purchased through cooperative agreements, according to the county's procurement code. That meant KCSO could fly under the radar.
If Yarnell didn't use the purchasing cooperative method, KCSO would've had to ask the procurement department overseen by Jacobs to solicit bids from all providers, not just Flock Safety. And if Yarnell reported a service included in the contract, the commission would have to vote on the deal, according to purchasing rules.
Allie Feinberg is the politics reporter for Knox News. Email: allie.feinberg@knoxnews.com; Reddit: u/KnoxNewsAllie
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: KCSO's deal with Flock Safety lasts 10 years. The department won't share its plans
