UNION TOWNSHIP, Ohio — Union Township trustees will hold a town hall next week to gather public input on whether the township should install, expand or discontinue automated license plate reader cameras, according to a public notice posted by the township.
The work session is scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 21, at the Union Township Civic Center, 4350 Aicholtz Road. The township said the meeting is being held under Ohio’s open meetings law, Section 121.22 of the Ohio Revised Code.
Trustees said the session will include information and presentations on Automated License Plate Reader, or ALPR, technology, followed by public comment and further board discussion on “the placement, installation, deployment, cancellation, modification, preservation, and/or continuation” of the systems within the township, according to the notice.
The township said it does not anticipate taking formal action at the meeting, but that trustees could vote as a result of the discussion.
ALPR systems use cameras mounted on poles, bridges or patrol vehicles to photograph passing license plates and automatically check them against law enforcement databases, flagging vehicles reported stolen or connected to warrants, missing-persons cases or other investigations. The American Civil Liberties Union, which tracks the technology’s spread nationally, has pushed for limits on how long agencies keep the data and who can access it, arguing that unflagged plate reads should be retained for no more than a matter of days or weeks.
Union Township is Clermont County’s most populous township, with about 49,600 residents as of the 2020 census. It is governed by a three-member Board of Trustees — John Becker, Joe Dills and Michael Logue — elected to four-year terms under the township’s home-rule charter.
Residents who wish to weigh in on the license plate reader program are invited to attend the Sept. 21 work session in person.
The information contained in this story was obtained from Union Township, Clermont County, Ohio.