The Missoula City Council will consider a new surveillance policy before voting on a contract for new security cameras at four city parks.  This story is excerpted from Missoula This Week, a weekly newsletter on Missoula city government, public school meetings, business news and upcoming ente rtainment and events. Sign up to receive this newsletter in your inbox every Friday. Sign up The council Monday delayed the vote on a $366,390 contract with Pine Cove Consulting to upgrade security cameras at the Currents Aquatics Center, Splash Montana, Mobash skate park and Fort Missoula Regional Park after ongoing citizen concerns about the potential use of AI tools, surveillance systems in general and the company Verkada, which makes the cameras. Several residents urged the city to instead purchase cameras without AI capabilities or cloud-based storage, which come with security risks.  The council preliminarily approved the contract for the cameras on June 10, contingent on approval of a budget amendment up for a vote June 22. On Monday, city staff provided more information about the cameras and Verkada, including a FAQ sheet and Parks and Recreation’s current video surveillance policy.  Marina Yoshioka, the parks and recreation director, said Monday the proposal would replace aging security cameras that provide minimal usable footage. Cameras were installed in 2006 at Currents and Splash Montana and in 2014 at Fort Missoula Regional Park when the facilities were built, Yoshioka said. A limited number of staff members have access to the camera footage, which is reviewed only after specific incidents and otherwise deleted after 30 days, she said.   Yoshioka described several incidents of vandalism and other crimes where cameras were and were not helpful. When footage could not be recovered, the city absorbed the cost of damages to park facilities, she said.  “We are asking to replace equipment that is failing, and therefore failing the public, with a modern system and a commitment to transparency,” Yoshioka said. Eric Hallstrom, the city’s chief operations officer, said the city would own and control its camera data, which would be encrypted, and that Verkada would not have access unless the city grants it. There would also be a limited ability to “toggle” AI capabilities on or off, and any change in that status would be logged and auditable, he said.  Jesse Neidigh, Missoula’s IT director, said the city can’t realistically create its own system at a lower cost, given staff and equipment costs. Neidigh said he struggled to find any security cameras without AI features. Other technologies the city uses, like laptops, are marketed with AI capabilities, Hallstrom said.  Council Member Bob Campbell proposed sending the contract back to the council committee to create a policy that would address citizen concerns about how the city would use cameras and other technology before moving forward. “It’s important to have the accountability piece in place first and foremost, to have the system in place, where once we get to the point of putting the hardware and software in place, the citizenry can feel confident that we have oversight, we have transparency and all those pieces are in place,” he said.  Several members of the public commented in opposition to the Verkada cameras or the use of security cameras in public parks. Others suggested the city create its own system rather than relying on an outside company.  Resident Holly Scott said the city’s promise not to use AI features like facial recognition is not a sufficient privacy safeguard.   “If the capability exists, how can anyone guarantee it will never be expanded or used differently in the future?” Scott said. “This system should be designed around accountability and limits, not trust alone.”  Council Member Gwen Jones said the city and its IT department have a limited budget and staff to take on a project like this.  “There are some expectations that I think our community needs to grapple with,” she said. “We have limited capacity with our local government; we are living in a high-tech world, so how do we thread the needle as the city? We’ll have some more conversations, but that’s what we’re being tasked with, so we’ll work on it.”  Council President Mike Nugent told Montana Free Press the mayor and administration will work on a policy to present to the council at an undetermined time. From there, the council will make decisions about the security cameras and other systems, he said. The post Missoula delays decision on security cameras due to AI concerns appeared first on Montana Free Press. ...read more read less