Southport, NC, City Hall appears proud to have a new security system- 8 cameras AND listening devices. I guess they may have not paid attention to problems other city offices have faced around the country. University of California Police Department and Nelson, NH City Hall are two examples where law suits were brought with allegations of eavesdropping (see Exec Security posts here and here). Once you add audio to your recordings you face a different set of rules. I wonder how long it will take until they are asked to remove the microphones due to law suits?
SOUTHPORT, NC (WECT) –Southport residents who visit City Hall to pay a bill will be watched and heard in a different way from here out.
On every hall, every corner, and every doorway a camera will be watching your every move. When you walk to the lobby to pay a bill, microphones will be recording your conversation.
City Manager Kerry McDuffie recently installed eight new security cameras and listening devices in City Hall, located at 1029 N. Howe Street. Virtually the only place that you won’t be seen is in the bathroom.
Mayor Robert Howard said the eight new cameras and listening devices were installed to make city hall safer.
“Any professional operation that you go into has camera systems in place,” Howard said. “When someone comes in with a gun, we want to make sure we find those people.”
The equipment costs the city about $1,200 and was listed as a non-budgeted item. The recording device holds 500 gigabytes of sound and comes with a 30-day rewind function.
When you walk to City Hall lobby to pay a bill — microphones will be recording your conversation.
Members of the City’s Board of Alderman including Nelson Adams expressed their concern about how the equipment will be used on a day-to-day basis. “Town hall is not Fort Knox. It’s not the Pentagon,” Adams said. “What if we wanted to have a personal conversation? I’m concerned that it could be an invasion of someone’s privacy.”
“It’s not an invasion of privacy,” Howard said. “It’s a public building. We’re not recording people’s private conversations. Everything we do here is public.” Building Inspector Wayne Strickland will have access to the equipment and will know if a visitor arrives or gets aggressive with town employees.
Mayor Howard said the recordings that come from the cameras and listening devices are a matter of public record unless they pertain to confidential information like someone’s social security number or billing information.