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City of Bartlesville
Posted: Jan 20, 2026 9:30 AMUpdated: Jan 20, 2026 9:52 AM
CITY MATTERS: Tim Sherrick Talks Feb 10 Ballot Issues and Flock Cameras
Tom Davis
Appearing on COMMUNITY CONNECTION, Bartlesville City Councilor TIm Sherrick talked about February city elections and a followup on the vulerabilties of the Flock camera system that is being used by the Bartlesville Police Department.
On February 10th, Bartlesville voters go to the polls to decide several ballot issues for the City of Bartlesville: the 1/4-cent Economic Development Sales Tax; the 1/2-cent Capital Improvement Projects (CIP) Sales Tax and; the 2026 General Obligation Bond.
Sherrick said, "The Economic development sales tax revenues are used to fund Bartlesville Development Authority programs that have helped create hundreds of jobs throughout the community, bring national brand retail and dining experiences, and incentivize resident housing initiatives. These revenues also help fund Visit Bartlesville’s tourism efforts, bringing with it an economic impact that far exceeds the investment."
As for the CIPS Sales Tax, Sherrick said, "This is what we're funding next. So on the half cent, which is the one that we do a lot of different kinds of community projects with, that is a continuation of the existing sales tax for capital improvement projects."
One of the projects close to Sherrick is one that puts about $1.4 million into our community center if this passes. And that will help the city upgrade lighting systems and bring it up to speed to be used for many years to come. And this will help us bring in more contemporary shows too. He also pointed out that the Center has a 44 year-old air conditioner sitting on the roof that is dead. That used to be the primary air conditioner and the backup is 17 years old.
Sherrick summarized the ballot issues as a kind of a "pay-as-you-go." This is not something that's going to increase your budget by any money at all. He said that this has a long history in Bartlesville of passing, and I would expect that it probably passes this time as well.
Sherrick called the GO bonds 'a completely different kind of animal.' He explained, "We can only use general obligation bonds for properties that we actually own. So parks or other buildings like that, that we actually own."
Sherrick pivoted to the debate around the state on property taxes right now. State question 841, being brought by Representative Stiegel and Senator Shane Jett, would propose that we phase out property taxes entirely over a three-year period. That gives everybody the jitters. But if you read it, you'll find that it's only for homeowners and only if you qualify for that homestead exemption. Big business and rentals are not included. So it's not going to put the big dent in some of those essential services like education that you thought it might. It will help to exempt our seniors and those on fixed incomes from being in jeopardy of losing their property if they can't pay their property tax.
As for the Flock cameras, city coucilor Aaron Kirkpatrick brought up in the January council meeting that someone was able to get into a Flock camera, and the company's response was really not very satisfactory.
Sherick said, "I've published a very large body of data, and there is a large and growing body of clear and convincing evidence available to the public that demonstrates all the different ways that security has been broken, not just on flock, but on their competitors as well. This technology is insecure. So as it turns out, it doesn't really matter if you trust your local law enforcement, because the vulnerabilities that exist in the background just make it absolutely untenable."
He said, "Actual physical access to the cameras, including the Falcon and Sparrow cameras like we use in Bartlesville, is fairly easy to do if you just walk up behind it and push some buttons in a certain sequence. Then you can stream that data right to your computer over Wi-Fi. It's scary." He added, Beyond the obvious Fourth Amendment violation that Representative Gann has been calling out, keeping the spotlight on for us for all these years, it's gotten to a place where we know it has been hacked, it can be hacked, and it really can't be secured in a way that protects the rights of all of our citizens. Might even introduce some of our people who are at risk in dangerous relationships or other things to additional risk. And we certainly don't want to leave the city open to that liability either."
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