Ovid Town Supervisor Joseph Borst is asking Seneca County and state transportation officials to remove an automated license plate reader camera near the community’s Four Corners intersection. He says the equipment was installed without notice to or consultation with town officials.
In a Sept. 11 letter written on behalf of the Town Board, Borst described the device as a Flock camera or a similar license plate reader near 2186 NY-96A, in the Town and Village of Ovid. He said it was placed in a New York State Department of Transportation right-of-way. The letter does not establish who installed or operates it.
Borst sent the letter to Seneca County Undersheriff Melinda Marquart, county Board of Supervisors Chair Michael Enslow and Elizabeth Parmley of the state Department of Transportation’s Region 3 office. He wrote that the Sheriff’s Office may not have received advance notice either; he did not state that as a confirmed fact.
The Town Board objects to the installation taking place without the town’s knowledge or input, Borst wrote. He said local governments have an interest in decisions affecting their rights-of-way, residents’ privacy and community trust.
The letter acknowledges that license plate readers could help law enforcement solve crimes and improve public safety. It also says residents have raised privacy and constitutional concerns about collecting and retaining data on where vehicles travel. The letter does not specify how the Ovid device’s data is collected, stored or used.
Borst asked Seneca County and the state transportation department to establish a policy requiring notice to and approval from an affected town or village before future cameras are installed. His request covers Flock devices and similar automated license plate readers, including those made by Axon or other companies.
He also asked the responsible party to remove the camera or cameras at the Ovid location. The letter does not say whether the county, state or another entity has agreed to either request.
Borst said the town values its partnership with county law enforcement and the transportation department and wants to work with them on an approach that balances public safety, transparency and local decision-making.
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