Tampa City Council to vote on Flock-associated School Zone Cameras this Thursday, July 16

14 Jul, 2026

By FLDR | 2 min read

tampa old city hall

Tampa City Council is preparing for a second reading on a proposal to expand the RedSpeed school zone camera program from 6 to 18 schools citywide.

We're asking the constituents of the City of Tampa to tell their council members to vote NO on the ordinance which would expand the number and geographical footprint of RedSpeed cameras.

You can give public comment in the morning after the meeting starts at 9:00 AM, or you can join at 1:00 PM with our volunteer representative to speak for the public hearing on the RedSpeed issue specifically. You can coordinate with us via our Signal group chat so that we can show how many people really do not want these cameras.

Note: the opportunities to speak may come much later than expected. Please plan your day accordingly if you would like to attend, or consider another way to voice your opinion to City Council that works better for you.

Meeting Details

Date: Thursday, July 16, 2026
Time: 9:00 AM
Meeting: Regular City Council Meeting
Location: Old City Hall
Address: 315 E. Kennedy Blvd., Tampa, FL 33602
Agenda

Background

The proposal builds on an earlier February vote that approved piggybacking on the county sheriff's existing contract with RedSpeed. This upcoming vote would expand the current deployment to cover additional school zones throughout the city.

RedSpeed is an ALPR vendor focused on school zone speeding. They have ties with Flock Safety to integrate into Flock's national lookup network, and had a partnership to integrate into Flock's cloud at least at one point. The piggyback contract is based on one created by the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, and the RedSpeed proposal explicitly mentions Flock.

Timeline

February Vote: Initial approval to piggyback on sheriff's contract (6 schools)
First Discussion: Presented expansion proposal for 18 schools
Next Steps: Second reading scheduled for Thursday, July 16, 2026

Public Participation

Residents interested in attending or participating have several options:

Attend the council meeting in person during scheduled public comment periods
View archived recordings on the city's YouTube channel
Submit official correspondence through the council's resident portal

Current Status

Staff has been tasked with gathering additional information before proceeding, including:

Research on alternative vendor options
Seeking an affidavit from RedSpeed about their sharing practices
Review of comparable contracts from other jurisdictions

One council member has specifically requested findings on vendor alternatives and certification regarding data sharing practices.

What Happens Next?

City staff will research and present findings on alternative vendors and data collection practices before the council votes on the expansion proposal. Additional public hearings may be scheduled depending on the scope of community interest.

Again, we're asking the constituents of the City of Tampa to tell their council members to vote NO on the ordinance which would expand the number and geographical footprint of RedSpeed cameras.

You can find more information on the state of mass surveillance cameras and digital rights in Tampa Bay from our Tampa Bay chapter.