HUNTSVILLE — Hearing the voices of city residents, Huntsville officials pulled plans Thursday to equip city garbage trucks with AI cameras.
“Today, the people made their voices heard,” District 1 City Council member Michelle Watkins said. “Taxpayers matter, and as elected officials, we must listen and respond to the will of the community we serve.”
The council announced the city would withdraw a proposed contract with the Tuscaloosa company City Detect.
Mayor Tommy Battle said the city would be working on the contract over the next six to eight months to “educate” the public.
“Quite frankly, we need to educate people a little bit better on it,” he said. “We need to let people know exactly what it’s going to do, what the ramifications are, what the propensity is for their ability to actually take pictures with it, what exactly they are taking pictures of and how tightly we’re going to be able to hold on with that information.”
The cameras were intended to detect property violations, the city said, but Huntsville residents felt alarmed about unnecessary surveillance.
”It is a joyous day in Huntsville as this nearly flawless effort of advocacy has proven the citizens of our great city do in fact have the power in their collective voice to shape the laws that govern their daily lives,” District 5 council member John Meredith said.
Led by the North Alabama Area Labor Council AFL-CIO, the local chapter of 50501, and Indivisible, a group of more than 100 residents urged the city council to vote no on the cameras at next week’s city council meeting. Due to the opposition, the city council announced Thursday that they will withdraw the proposal from consideration.
“North Alabama’s unions celebrate the city council doing the right thing by listening to their constituents and withdrawing this misguided proposal from consideration,” said NAALC President Jacob Morrison, a resident of Huntsville City Council District 2.
Residents opposed to the cameras expressed several issues including surveillance, impact on marginalized communities, and fiscal irresponsibility.
“Spending nearly $1 million of taxpayer funds on ineffective cameras was obviously an unpopular choice,” said Whitney Washington, a resident of Huntsville City Council District 1. “That money should be reinvested into our communities to support people, not punish them.
“I’d love to see grants made available to elderly or disabled homeowners who otherwise might not be able to afford to fix property violations.”
Geoff Angle, a 50501 local organizer, said the council’s decision was a cause to celebrate the power of people.
“The people of Huntsville have made their voices heard that we do not want further surveillance in our communities,” he said. “Pulling the proposal from the agenda is a small victory we must celebrate.
“This is proof that regular people have the power to make change happen.”
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