The Pricing Model
Municipalities and HOAs typically pay $2,500–$3,000 per camera per year, plus a one-time installation fee of $300–$350 per camera. Confirmed That fee covers everything — maintenance, AWS GovCloud data hosting, cellular data, and automatic hardware upgrades. A damaged or relocated camera costs an extra $750. Confirmed
This subscription model is the entire reason Flock could scale so fast: it removed the upfront capital cost (wiring, server infrastructure, permitting) that made legacy ALPR systems expensive to deploy.
Known Contracts
| Entity | Value | Term | Notes |
|---|
| City of Oakland, CA | $2,000,000 | Multi-Year | Hundreds of municipal ALPR cameras, General Fund |
| Richmond Police Dept. | $1,003,674 | 2024–2026 | Gunshot sensors + ALPR cameras |
| City of Denver | $666,000 | Proposed Renewal | Rejected by City Council over ICE data-sharing concerns |
| Cobb County Police | $213,000 | Annual | 70+ active county-wide cameras |
| Michigan City Police | $180,000 | Multi-Year | 30 additional units, funded via congressional earmark |
| City of Yorba Linda | $114,600 | 1 Year (Initial) | 36 cameras at $2.5k/yr + $13.8k install |
| Village of Grafton | $87,500 | 5 Years | Locked-in subscription, Capital Improvement Program |
| Town of Harrison | $57,348 | Multi-Year | Rekor system, funded by state grants |
This is a sample of publicly documented contracts, not an exhaustive national database. Confirmed
The Taxpayer Total — A Projection, Not an Audit
No government agency has published an audited national total for ALPR spending. We can build a transparent estimate from confirmed inputs: of roughly 90,000 active cameras, an estimated 60% are under government contract — about 54,000 cameras. At $2,500 per camera per year, that's roughly $135 million a year in recurring subscription fees alone, nationwide. AllegedThis excludes installation, relocation, and add-on sensors like audio detection — so it's a floor, not a ceiling.
How Federal Grants Hide the Real Cost
DHS State Homeland Security Program Grants
Santa Cruz, CA used SHSP funds for entry/exit corridor cameras. Sumner, WA used a $50,000 federal grant to cover its entire first year — then was on the hook for $39,000/year afterward.
DOJ COPS Technology & Hiring Grants
Auburn, ME launched its system using federal pandemic-era grants. Once that funding expired, $26,000/year in maintenance costs shifted to local taxpayers.
Congressional Community Project Funding
Michigan City, IN secured a $180,000 direct congressional earmark to add 30 cameras to its existing 30-camera grid.
The pattern across all three: a grant covers the launch cost, the council never has to hold a real budget vote on the ongoing expense, and by the time the bill becomes a permanent local-tax line item, the system is already running and politically harder to remove. Alleged