Report Back

Buncombe County Commissioners withdrew the proposed $290,000 surveillance funding increase from their October 6 agenda. We welcome this decision, which came after GAPavl and others raised concerns about the almost complete lack of information provided to the public. However, the questions about what the money would purchase, how the surveillance technology would be used, and what safeguards would protect residents’ privacy remain unanswered. We hope the County will address these questions before bringing the proposal back for consideration.

At the October 6 meeting, Commissioner Drew Ball moved to remove the budget amendment from the agenda. Commissioner Martin Moore seconded, and the Board approved the motion unanimously, without explanation. Several Commissioners also responded to our emails to let us know that the item was being withdrawn. 

We appreciate the Commissioners’ decision to withdraw the proposal for the time being, and will monitor this issue for its inevitable return. The postponement provides an opportunity for the County and Sheriff’s Office to explain the proposed expenditures, the system’s capabilities, its public-safety benefits, and the safeguards governing its use before asking Commissioners to approve additional funding.

Total GAP Supporter Actions Taken: 28

Recipients and Responses:

Buncombe County Commission

• County Commission Chair Amanda Edwards: Responded, see below
• County Commissioner Al Whitesides: No response
• County Commissioner Drew Ball: No response
• County Commissioner Jennifer Horton: No response
• County Commissioner Martin Moore: No response
• County Commissioner Parker Sloane: Responded, see below
• County Commissioner Terri Wells: No response

Email from Chair Edwards:

Good morning,

We removed this item last night and will work with Sheriff Miller to have him provide more information at a future meeting.

Please note that Terri Wells is not the chair of the county commission.

Kindly,

Chair Edwards

Email from Commissioner Sloane:

Thanks ____, we are pulling the item tonight as I don’t exactly know what it’s for either. The Sheriff’s office has cameras in public schools as well as body cameras and contracts for both all of which predate our (and my personal) concerns around using cameras and AI for mass surveillance, however we are pulling this tonight to discuss it all wholistically and understand what safeguards are in place, etc. We will discuss it more thoroughly at a future briefing prior to voting on any contracts in the future.

Summary: Buncombe County Commissioners are being asked Tuesday to approve $290,000 from forfeiture funds for the Sheriff’s Office’s FY27 FUSUS/Axon contract and a “Camera Project at IGrant.” That’s essentially all the agenda packet tells the public. Fusus can bring together numerous public and private camera feeds and other law-enforcement data, making legitimate questions about privacy, data sharing, oversight, and civil liberties particularly important. We believe Commissioners should not approve additional funding for this technology without first explaining what the money will purchase, how the system is being used, what safeguards govern it, and what results it has produced.

The Facts: The Buncombe County Commission agenda includes a Sheriff’s Office request to appropriate $290,000 from the County’s Forfeitures Fund balance.

The agenda packet says the money will cover two things:

• the Sheriff’s Office’s FY27 FUSUS/Axon contract; and

• a “Camera Project at IGrant.”

The recommended action is simply to “Approve budget amendment.” The packet includes no description of the contract, the camera project, how the $290,000 is divided between them, or what additional or continuing surveillance capabilities the expenditure would provide. Presumably “IGrant” refers to the Sheriff’s Illegal Gun Reduction and Narcotics Taskforce, but the supplied documents do not indicate what the acronym refers to. The accompanying budget amendment provides no additional explanation beyond identifying the funding source as the Forfeitures Fund balance.

The Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) already operates a Real Time Intelligence Center. On its website, BCSO says the center gathers intelligence to help deploy resources and can receive information from a network of community stakeholders. Its Community Camera Registry allows residents and businesses to register cameras and offers an option through which participating camera owners can stream live video directly to BCSO.

Fusus, now owned by Axon, is a broader real-time intelligence platform. Axon says it can integrate public and private cameras, body-worn and vehicle cameras, license-plate readers, drones, alerts and other information into a common interface.

You can read the request for board action here. The proposed budget amendment can be found here.

We raised similar concerns in August when Asheville City Council was considering its use of Flock and Axon technology. Supporters argue that surveillance tools can improve public safety. But these technologies also raise important questions about privacy, tracking people’s movements, data sharing, misuse, mistaken identification and the gradual creep of surveillance capabilities. Before the government spends public money on surveillance, residents deserve to know what benefits are claimed and demonstrated, what risks exist, and what safeguards are in place. That deserves a public conversation – not a two-line budget item.

Our concern isn’t simply that the County uses Fusus or Axon. It’s that Commissioners are being asked to appropriate another $290,000 for a surveillance contract and camera project without telling residents what they are paying for.

These questions are especially important because surveillance systems can expand incrementally. A new camera, integration, or data source may look modest when considered on its own, while subtly creating a much larger surveillance network.

Commissioners may ultimately conclude that some or all of this expenditure is justified. But residents should not have to consent on trust alone to surveillance technology with demonstrated risks. The County should provide enough information for the public – and Commissioners themselves – to understand what is being purchased, what risks exist, and what protections accompany it.

Things to do: No further action suggested at this time. Last week, we invited you to email the Buncombe County Commission and ask members to postpone the $290,000 appropriation until the Sheriff’s Office publicly explains what the money will purchase, how the technology is used, what safeguards govern it, and what results the relevant existing systems have already produced.