Committee of the Whole

MINUTES COMMITTEE-OF-THE-WHOLE PRESIDENT AND BOARD OF TRUSTEES VILLAGE OF ARLINGTON HEIGHTS BOARD ROOM MONDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2026 7:00P.M. BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: President Tinaglia; Trustees: Bertucci, Dunnington, Gilbert, LaBedz, Manganaro, Santa Maria and Zyck BOARD MEMBERS ABSENT: Trustee Schwingbeck STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT: Randy Recklaus, Village Manager; Nicholas Pecora, Chief of Police; Greg Czernecki, Deputy Chief of Police; Valerie Andrews, Deputy Chief of Police and Kim Peterson, Recording Secretary President Tinaglia called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited. Approval of Minutes A. Committee of the Whole 12/15/25 Trustee LaBedz moved, seconded by Trustee Bertucci, to approve the December 15, 2025 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes. The Motion: Passed Ayes: Bertucci, Dunnington, Gilbert, LaBedz, Manganaro, Zyck, Tinaglia Nays: None Passed: Santa Maria B. Committee of the Whole 1/12/26 Trustee Manganaro moved, seconded by Trustee LaBedz, to approve the January 12, 2026 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes. The Motion: Passed Ayes: Bertucci, Dunnington, Gilbert, LaBedz, Manganaro, Santa Maria, Tinaglia Nays: None Passed: Zyck Committee-of-the-Whole February 9, 2026 Page 1 of 6 New Business A. Automated License Plate Reader Discussion Mr. Recklaus advised that tonight’s discussion will involve Automated License Plate Reader technology, which was originally discussed by the Board in December. Mr. Recklaus stated that this technology is a powerful tool and already an integral part of the Village’s law enforcement efforts in the community and should be scrutinized by the industry, its users and the public. Mr. Recklaus advised that the Police Department, legal team and staff put a lot of time looking at how best to adjust the Village’s contract to make sure that any concerns that were identified were addressed appropriately and believes the updated language really strikes an appropriate balance between the utility of the product and protecting the public. Staff is hoping to get a motion tonight to direct them to place this on an upcoming Village Board agenda for approval of a contract. Deputy Chief Czernecki advised that there were several concerns raised by the Board at the December meeting which he will address tonight, as well as provide an overview of Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) technology. Deputy Chief Czernecki explained how ALPR’s capture computer readable images of vehicle details, such as license plates, which is the primary factor, that can then be compared against databases such as the Illinois Secretary of State, NCIS and the databases for missing persons. The software can pick up the license plate information which can be compared to any of the hot lists to determine if it is stolen or wanted for anything and also pick up the make and model and color of the vehicle. Once this information is translated into data points, it will alert the officers in the field in real time and then they can take appropriate action if needed. The APLR technology can also do partial license plate searches. Deputy Chief Czernecki explained how an LPR is a force multiplier for the police department. It provides the officers with a tool that considerably makes their jobs more effective and efficient. It allows the officers to be proactive, helps solve cases quicker, and has the ability to reduce overall crime. Officer safety is another significant benefit of this technology, as it can provide the officers with critical information in real time about who could be in a flagged vehicle and the danger they may pose, which can drastically improve the outcome of the situation. Community care taking and safety is another benefit of LPR’s, as it not only addresses criminal activity, but can also be used to help locate missing persons or someone suffering a mental health crisis. Deputy Chief Czernecki advised that LPR systems have been in place since 2017 and the Village has had a very robust policy that has evolved since LPR technology has advanced. License Plate Readers are used for legitimate Law Enforcement purposes only and not to infringe on anyone’s privacy rights. Any sensitive information will remain confidential. Deputy Chief Czernecki explained the policy’s permitted uses and prohibited uses, and advised how they will not violate any federal, state or local law, and will not use it for the investigation or enforcement of anything that’s related to reproductive health care services or detention or investigation of immigration. Committee-of-the-Whole February 9, 2026 Page 2 of 6 Deputy Chief Czernecki discussed some LPR misconceptions, including surveils and tracks vehicles, sale and sharing of data with private organizations and federal agencies, cameras use facial recognition, private customers can access law enforcement data, cameras can be hacked and violation of the 4th amendment. Deputy Chief Czernecki next discussed some of the concerns that came up during the December meeting, including data sharing with law enforcement agencies. Deputy Chief Czernecki advised that there are specific requirements for the Arlington Heights Police Department to share data with any other law enforcement agency, and explained those requirements. He also explained how they turned off the national look up and are only sharing data with agencies inside of Illinois. Another concern was the auditing schedule and one of the recommendations was to increase the frequency of the audits, which they determined a monthly audit is feasible. They will also review security protocols to make sure best practices are being followed, and will take a look at updated legal decisions and update policies when appropriate. The Board also discussed public transparency and what they would like to do is sometime in the first quarter of this year is implement a public transparency portal, which would provide information about what the LPR system is, what it does and what it does not do, the Village’s LPR policy, disclose the data retention periods, disclose some of the agencies that data has been shared with, hotlist hits and general information about camera locations and numbers There was also some concern with what the searches are, which Deputy Chief Czernecki reiterated that they must be tied to legitimate law enforcement purposes, including detection of crime, investigation, prevention and deterrence and prosecution. Anyone who logs into the system to conduct a search has to provide a reason for the search, and anything that happens within the system is logged and there is a record trail of it. There are also automatic features that Flock has put in place to flag or preclude certain types of searches. Deputy Chief Czernecki advised that they did work with Flock to amend some of the language to be crystal clear in terms of what they are looking for in the LPR system. Some payment terms were updated, which included the grant funding received by the Illinois Attorney General’s office for some of the cameras, and language was inserted in the contract to ensure that Flock cannot do anything that violates Illinois state law. In terms of customer generated data, Flock cannot sell or share any of Arlington Heights’ data, nor can they integrate data with any other third party. Data retention will follow the industry’s best practice of 30 days, and if there are any instances where Flock violates any specific State laws, they will be held responsible and will be obligated for the fees paid during the past 12 months. Deputy Chief Czernecki discussed Flock’s security protocols, which are mainly industry best practice standards and are up to the Village’s standard. In addition, Flock does have multi-factor authentication and they have engaged with Bishop Fox, which is a company that specializes in in offensive security, to ensure that they are doing everything possible to keep information safe and secure. In regards to the cameras being used in Arlington Heights, they are not internet-based and cannot be accessed remotely, nor do they transmit live views. The vehicle data is encrypted. Deputy Chief Czernecki advised that Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children recognize the use of LPR Committee-of-the-Whole February 9, 2026 Page 3 of 6 technology as a good resource for law enforcement to have. He also shared some LPR statistical data, including how during the last 30 days, Arlington Height Police Officers conducted about 1,200 searches and there were about 31,000 hot list hits. In the past 12 months there about 25,000 stolen license plates detected, about 2,500 stolen vehicle hits, 1,600 registered sex offender hits, 365 suspected gang/terrorist hits, 245 felony vehicles hits and 48 missing person hits in Arlington Heights. Deputy Chief Czernecki advised that all of the towns surrounding Arlington Heights have LPR technology and there has been a substantial increase in the number of LPR systems amongst mid-size agencies, according to a 2020 survey conducted by IACP. Deputy Chief Czernecki also shared some cases that the Department was able to successfully solve with the help of the LPR system. President Tinaglia stated that this is clearly a useful tool and something the Police Department counts on regularly. Trustee Dunnington stated that she really appreciates that they are adding the monthly audits, as well as the transparency portal. Trustee Dunnington asked if they will always be requiring a case number when a search is initiated, which Deputy Chief Czernecki advised that case numbers will be required for the vast majority of searches, but it isn’t a required field. There will be instances where case numbers won’t be required because time is of the essence and case numbers take time to generate, but these instances will be far and few. Trustee Dunnington asked if when our Police Department agrees to share information with another municipality, will they always be sharing with them or is on a case-by-case basis, which Deputy Chief Czernecki advised that it could be both. She also asked if there would ever be a time when they would share information out of state, which Mr. Recklaus advised that if this were to ever come up, they would discuss it with the Board. Trustee Dunnington stated that she feels very confident that the Arlington Heights Police Department has all the tools in place for the Flock cameras, but is concerned about Flock Safety’s recent data breaches. She believes that Flock needs to stand behind their product and incur a pretty significant penalty if our data is breached. Trustee Santa Maria stated that she supports adding the penalty if Flock violates our contract, as she has the utmost respect and trust in the Arlington Heights Police, but when the vendor is not following through with what they said they were going to do, having the penalty is something that our residents are owed. Chief Pecora advised that Flock Safety was amendable to taking what the Village pays them as a penalty, but they can certainly have a discussion with them to see if they will stand behind their product and accept a more significant penalty if data is breached. Trustee Bertucci stated that there is no doubt in his mind that the Police Department needs this tool. Mr. Recklaus advised the other advantage of Flock is that it is an effective tool for exonerating individuals who are innocent. Trustee LaBedz advised that she would support exploring a strong penalty if there is a violation. Trustee LaBedz asked if data is shared with another law enforcement agency, what prevents them from sharing the data and what prevents that organization from releasing information via FOIA, which Deputy Chief Czernecki Committee-of-the-Whole February 9, 2026 Page 4 of 6 advised that if another agency wanted to share our information it would need to be downloaded and released from our database, so there would be a trail showing this. He stated that everyone operates under the same FOIA laws and there is a level of trust and understanding that this information is very sensitive and confidential and shouldn’t be released. Trustee LaBedz stated that she thinks this is a very important tool for public safety. Trustee Gilbert stated that this form of technology is here to stay and asked what percentage of the market share Flock has in terms of police departments that are using it, which Deputy Chief Czernecki advised that they have a large majority. Trustee Gilbert advised that any other company’s system could be hacked. Deputy Chief Czernecki stated that he feels more comfortable with Flock, as they have the resources and technology to be able to put security measures into place, unlike some of the smaller companies. Trustee Gilbert asked if our Village didn’t use Flock but all of the surrounding communities did, would that make us more vulnerable to crime, which Deputy Chief Czernecki stated that he doesn’t know about us being more vulnerable to crime, but it does take away from that cohesive relationship with the other agencies. Mr. Recklaus advised that all of the surrounding municipalities in the Northwest Central Dispatch area share the same dispatch center and there is a very high degree of inoperability between the police departments, which is very much a strength, and if we used a different LPR system, we would take a few steps back from that. In addition, Flock has been very responsive to these things when they occur. Trustee Gilbert advised that he thinks this is very valuable tool. Trustee Manganaro thanked Staff for their ongoing conversations with Flock and for conveying the Board’s concerns. In addition, he thanked Deputy Chief Czernecki for explaining the difference between Flock Condor cameras and Flock LPR cameras, as well as discussing public versus private in terms of camera data. Trustee Manganaro asked if Arlington Heights has a real time sharing agreement with our immediate neighboring jurisdictions, which Deputy Chief Czernecki stated yes. He asked if they also opt out of the national look up and out of state access, which Deputy Chief Czernecki advised that he believes the majority of them are. Trustee Manganaro asked if the Flock software has the capacity to support the audit and flag search terms, which Deputy Chief Czernecki advised that certain search terms are restricted from being used in the first place but also in the audits they could be flagged Trustee Manganaro stated that he fully supports the need for these devices as a public safety instrument and for the Arlington Heights Police Department to be able to work with other police departments, however the vendor needs to understand that the ultimate responsibility is on them, therefore he agrees with Trustee Dunnington that they need to have penalties that are more than the cost of doing business. Trustee Zyck thanked Chief Pecora for all of the work the Police Department does and asked if Staff is having continual conversations with Flock about potential issues, which Deputy Chief Czernecki advised that Flock has a representative that works directly with them and they have been very responsive, especially when some of these concerns were raised, and provided updates with things they’re doing to improve the security of their system. Trustee Zyck stated that he does agree with Trustee Dunnington in terms of penalties. Committee-of-the-Whole February 9, 2026 Page 5 of 6 President Tinaglia advised that is sounds like the Police Department is using this system for various reasons, including catching criminals, avoiding crimes, protecting the residents and visitors and protecting themselves. President Tinaglia stated that this very important, but like any technology there is a time period of growth, and hopefully Flock will learn and grow and become a better business. Rob Brodecki, Arlington Heights resident, stated that he understands how this technology makes the job easier and safer for the police, but is concerned with once the data is captured, there are no guarantees that people will use it responsibly, especially outside of Arlington Heights. It’s almost impossible to guarantee that the data is safe once it's in the database and if someone in another agency doesn’t follow policy or chooses to ignore it, it’s too late, which is why the Board should opt out. Keith Moens, Arlington Heights resident, advised that he does trust the Village of Arlington Heights staff in using Flock, but sometimes best intentions can go awry. He is in favor of amending the contract to include some serious penalties, as well the ability to cancel the contract every year at budget time. Trustee Dunnington asked if an LPR can help with speeding vehicles, which Chief Pecora advised that the LPR it is just taking a picture of the date and time the car passed the camera. It doesn’t capture speed or the facial recognition of the driver. Trustee Manganaro asked why 30 days is the best practice for retention of data, which Deputy Chief Czernecki advised that 30 days is more from the investigative aspect. Trustee Manganaro asked if a “bad actor” were to get access to data, what exactly would they get, which Deputy Chief Czernecki advised that it is very limited and what you could see with your own eyes standing on the side of the road. Mr. Recklaus stated that from what he has gathered, the Board wants them to look at adding a strong penalty, perhaps looking at the city of Denver’s language, and if they could achieve that they would bring it back to the Board for approval of the agreement with that provision. Other Business None. Public Comment None. Adjournment Trustee Bertucci moved, seconded by Trustee Zyck, to adjourn the meeting at 8:38 p.m. Upon a voice vote, the motion passed unanimously. Committee-of-the-Whole February 9, 2026 Page 6 of 6

AGENDA Committee of the Whole Board Room 33 S. Arlington Heights Rd February 9, 2026 7:00 PM I. CALL TO ORDER II. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE III. ROLL CALL OF MEMBERS IV. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. COW Meeting Minutes 12/15/25 B. COW Meeting Minutes 1/12/26 V. NEW BUSINESS A. Automated License Plate Reader Discussion VI. OTHER BUSINESS VII. PUBLIC COMMENT Anyone wishing to speak on a subject not on the Agenda may speak at this time. Please limit your comments to three minutes. VIII. ADJOURNMENT Persons with disabilities requiring auxiliary aids or services, such as an American Sign Language interpreter or written materials in accessible formats, should contact the Health & Human Services Department, at 33 S. Arlington Heights Road, Arlington Heights, IL 60005, healthmail@vah.com or 847/368-5760.