Rep. Scott Krug talks surplus, data centers, and flock cameras

Our Take

Civic Media Podcasts host Melissa Kaye sits down with State Rep. Scott Krug (72nd Assembly District) for a grab-bag conversation covering Wisconsin's $2.5 billion budget surplus, data center deals, and Flock Safety's ALPR cameras. We appreciate Krug and Kaye putting Flock on the agenda at all — most state-level budget conversations never mention the license plate readers being bought with public money, so credit where it's due for even raising the subject.

But that's exactly the problem we keep running into: surveillance infrastructure gets discussed in the same breath as surplus dollars and server farms, like it's just another economic development line item instead of a system that logs every driver's movements, feeds a private company's nationwide database, and operates with almost no public oversight once it's installed. A budget surplus is a policy choice. So is deciding to spend part of it wiring up your community with cameras that track people who've done nothing wrong.

If your town is weighing a Flock contract or already has cameras up, don't wait for a podcast segment to tell you about it. Check our camera map to see what's already deployed near you, and use our take-action resources to push your local officials for real answers before the next budget cycle quietly renews the contract.