North Richland Hills, a Fort Worth-area suburb, reportedly gave a requester an upfront estimate of $2.3 million to process a public-records request about police use of Flock Safety cameras. That is an estimate—not a reported payment, final bill, or legal ruling. The request concerns communications about errors, misuse, and effectiveness of the camera system. The Texas Tribune reported the estimate on October 5, 2026.
Why did North Richland Hills estimate the records request at $2.3 million?
The city’s reported calculation applied a labor rate of $15 per hour to the work of searching roughly a terabyte of communications, according to the Tribune. The request sought communications concerning errors, misuse, and effectiveness of the city’s Flock system. It was an oversight request, not a request to purchase or operate cameras.
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The city spokesperson confirmed the invoice to the Tribune and directed questions about the camera program to the city’s website. The Tribune said it had a similar request pending. The published reporting does not provide the underlying itemized estimate, so it does not establish how the city calculated the total across labor, programming, or other charges.
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What do Flock cameras collect, and why do the records matter?
The Tribune reports that Flock cameras capture license plates and identifying vehicle details, including make, model, bumper stickers, and dents. Officers can search cameras operated by many agencies in a single query. Records about errors, misuse, access, and effectiveness can therefore help the public understand how the system is used, not just whether cameras are installed.
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Transparency features vary by agency. Flock spokesperson Andrew Smith told the Tribune: “The portals give agencies a public-facing way to publish information about their [license plate reader] programs, including policies, usage and access rules to help communities better understand how the technology is being used,” The company statement describes what portals can provide; it does not establish that every agency publishes the same information or uses the feature.
What does Texas law say about a public-records cost estimate?
Under section 552.2615 of the Texas Public Information Act, a governmental body must send a cost estimate before doing the work if charges will exceed $40. The Texas Attorney General’s Public Information Cost Estimate Model explains that the estimate helps a requester decide how to proceed; it is not necessarily the exact final price.
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The guidance describes options to accept the estimate, modify the request, or file a complaint alleging an overcharge. That general process does not determine whether North Richland Hills’ particular calculation is valid. The published materials cited here do not show an itemized statement, a complaint, or an Attorney General decision about this estimate.
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- Review the estimate and its itemization. The amount alone does not show how the agency calculated the charges. Check the stated work and costs against the request’s scope.
- Consider narrowing or modifying the request. The Attorney General guidance identifies modification as an option; a more focused request may reduce the records or work involved.
- Accept the estimate or file a cost complaint. The guidance describes both acceptance and a complaint alleging overcharge. It does not promise a particular result, and it does not resolve the North Richland Hills estimate.
What does the reported portal data show?
The Tribune reported in 2026 that 60 Texas agencies used Flock transparency portals. Those portals represented more than 2,600 of an estimated 13,000 cameras; the 13,000 figure was an estimate, not a definitive statewide count. The Tribune also found 16 agencies sharing their search records. These are figures from the Tribune’s reporting, not an official state audit. They illustrate that public visibility into camera use varies among agencies.
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What remains unknown about the $2.3 million estimate?
- Whether the requester paid the estimate or whether any final charge was incurred.
- How the city itemized the labor, programming, and other costs behind the total.
- Whether the requester challenged the estimate or whether it was found lawful.
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