Richmond, MO Sunshine Request Data

City of Richmond: ALPR Surveillance Infrastructure Audit
This page contains the complete digital ledger of public records, statutory correspondence, and financial documentation obtained from the City of Richmond, Missouri, regarding the procurement, operation, and inter-agency integration of its Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) program, Flock.

Executive Overview:
In July 2026, Midwest Transparency Audit initiated a probe into the City of Richmond to determine the extent of its localized vehicular surveillance footprint. Following an initial 35-day statutory delay tactic, the city surrendered its active data-sharing matrices. Our audit reveals that the City of Richmond does not operate an isolated local camera network; rather, the local police department operates as a highly active node within a massive, nationwide surveillance dragnet, routinely exchanging vehicular tracking data with hundreds of external agencies, including regional drug task forces and state highway patrols, all without safeguards or standard operating procedures.

Procurement & Financial Breakdown

The Sunshine Law Battle: Audit Timeline

The financial trail obtained through our Sunshine Law audits details a multi-year funding matrix designed to establish and maintain the local tracking dragnet:

Initial Deployment (January 2024): The City executed a Master Services Agreement with Flock Safety on January 27, 2024. The initial contract invoice (INV-31606) totaled $25,850. This covered seven Falcon cameras, a 30-day cloud data retention package, and customized hardware configurations including standard implementation, existing infrastructure attachments, and three heavy-duty MASH-tested poles.
The Funding Matrix: Internal routing sheets reveal that Richmond utilized $24,500 in state funds drawn directly from a Local Violent Crime Prevention (LVCP) Grant. The remaining balance of $1,350 was quietly subsidized using private police donations to finalize the acquisition.
The Recurring Overhead (May 2026): Upon expiration of the initial term, Flock Safety adjusted its pricing structure, invoicing Richmond a flat subscription rate of $3,000 per camera annually. The Year 1 renewal invoice (INV-94042) totaled $21,000 and was paid on May 21, 2026, using tax-supported General Fund operating capital allocated strictly out of the Police Department’s maintenance accounts (Account 404-4080).
The Hardware Footprint: The City of Richmond currently funds and operates seven (7) Flock Safety Falcon ALPR cameras.

The documentation archived below exposes a systematic pattern of administrative delay, legal deflection, and eventual capitulation when confronted with precise statutory challenges.

Phase 1: The 35-Day Administrative Stall

July 8, 2026: Midwest Transparency Audit LLC filed a formal 4-part Sunshine Law request seeking Richmond’s vendor contracts, internal data-retention metrics, private surveillance partnerships, and usage/audit policies.
July 13, 2026: City Clerk Saige Mason issued an official response acknowledging the request but pushed the production timeline out to August 12, 2026—forcing an unlawful 35-day delay. The city cited boilerplate text regarding "staff vacations," the "press of other business," and the imaginary need to review "various mediums and devices" for standard, centrally located vendor files.

Phase 2: Statutory Objection & Capitulation

July 14, 2026: We fired back an immediate Statutory Objection and Formal Notice of Unreasonable Delay. The objection dismantled the city’s excuses, noting that under Stafford/Attorney General guidelines, understaffing or scheduled vacations do not toll a public body’s legal obligations under Chapter 610, RSMo. We demanded a rolling production within 24 hours under penalty of a formal complaint filed with the Missouri Attorney General’s Transparency Division.
July 15, 2026: Facing immediate escalation, City Clerk Mason capitulated. Abandoning the month-long delay, the city executed a rolling release, turning over the master contracts, purchase orders, checks, and an active inter-agency data-sharing agreement.

Phase 3: The Active Policy Void & Dashboard Stand Run

The Policy Admission: In her July 15 disclosure, City Clerk Mason made a startling admission: "The City has not adopted written policies or procedures specific to the use of Flock safety tools or automated license plate readers." Richmond PD is operating advanced vehicle-tracking dragnets with zero guidelines on user audits or privacy safeguards.
July 16, 2026: We filed a notice of incomplete production. While the city handed over a static Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Ray County Sheriff's Office, it actively withheld the real-time system audit logs, network integration parameters, and "Hotlist" sharing logs embedded directly within the active FlockOS cloud dashboard. We noted that withholding digital cloud logs that take seconds to export constitutes a facial violation of the Sunshine Law.
July 17, 2026: City Clerk Mason attempted a final defensive maneuver, invoking a 2003 Western District appellate ruling (Anderson v. Village of Jacksonville) to demand clarification on the technical scope of "data logs," questioning whether the audit targeted the framework of data shared or the logs of what has actively been shared.
July 27, 2026: To alleviate any perceived administrative burden, Midwest Transparency Audit explicitly narrowed the scope of the remaining unfulfilled request (Item #2). We requested native digital CSV exports directly from the FlockOS cloud dashboard (specifically the SharedNetworks.csv configuration file). We explicitly stated the City could completely omit or delete any columns containing exempt license plate data. We established a deadline of July 28, 2026, for these native digital exports.
July 28, 2026: City Clerk Mason refused to produce the digital exports or adjust the 35-day timeline, claiming the City "must still review the information requested to determine whether any closed record designations are necessary."
August 12, 2026: Under the pressure of the Attorney General complaint, City Clerk Saige Mason released the unredacted data-sharing matrix and administrative logs.

The Surveillance Dragnet: Data-Sharing Matrices

On August 12, 2026, the City of Richmond surrendered its SharedNetworks.csv configuration file, exposing the true scale of the department's surveillance integration:

The National Network: The Richmond Police Department's dashboard is actively linked to 619 different law enforcement and government agencies.
Exporting Local Data: The Richmond Police Department actively pushes its local camera feeds and hotlist data outward, granting surveillance access to 223 external agencies.
Importing External Data: Richmond has been granted reciprocal access to the camera networks of 558 external agencies, providing the local department with the capability to track vehicular movements across state lines.
Task Force Integration: The matrix confirms that Richmond's data network is directly integrated with state-level entities and regional task forces, including the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Mid Missouri Drug Task Force, and the SEMO Drug Task Force.
The Authorization Spree: The provided administrative action logs reveal that on a single day—July 15, 2026—Police Chief Scott Bagley manually executed 44 separate authorizations to grant external agencies access to Richmond's camera feeds.

City Minutes(2) 1-23-24

The Current Status (Flash Drive Friction): While the city surrendered the sharing matrices, the administration is employing a final bureaucratic hurdle regarding the network search logs. Citing file size limitations and redaction requirements for active investigations, the city is forcing the delivery of the digital CSV file via a physical flash drive sent through certified mail. MWTA has accepted this delivery method and awaits the final hardware to close the audit.

DEMAND ACCOUNTABILITY. The City of Richmond is currently operating a 7-camera regional vehicle tracking grid with ZERO written usage guidelines, user restrictions, or citizen privacy guardrails. Contact City Hall or your Ward Councilmember directly and demand to know why your movements are being tracked without an active data-retention policy. CLICK HERE FOR RICHMOND CITY CONTACT PAGE