Public comment at Asheville City Council runs three minutes per speaker. This page has the schedule, the rules, a structure for three minutes, and the questions that are still open. Comment procedure for the other WNC bodies is on each area page under Western North Carolina.
Where and when
- City Council: 2nd and 4th Tuesdays, 5 PM, Council Chamber, City Hall (70 Court Plaza). The agenda posts each Friday; check the consent agenda for surveillance-adjacent items (data-sharing interlocals and DOJ grants have both traveled that way). The Aug 25, 2026 Flock termination vote is recorded at the record; what a full exit still requires is at Getting Flock Out.
- Public Safety Committee: last Thursday of odd-numbered months, 11 AM, virtual (livestream). Next: Thursday, Sept 24, 1:00 PM: Asheville City Council Public Safety Committee, Remote meeting (virtual, per NC Gen. Stat. 166A-19.24(f)); livestream on Engagement Hub or the City's YouTube Channel, call-in (855) 925-2801 code 11543. Live call-in comments during the public comment period: (855) 925-2801, code 11543, then press * and select option 3. Pre-recorded voicemail comments accepted at the same number/code until 5:00 p.m. the day before the meeting. Written comments to publicsafetycommittee@PublicInput.com, also closing 5:00 p.m. the day before.. Chaired by Bo Hess, with Mosley and Smith. The RTIC audit reports are due to this committee.
- Anytime: email avl-city-council@publicinput.com (goes to all members and into the record) · voicemail 855-925-2801, code 10332 · individual members’ emails are on the city roster.
- RTIC tours: every other Thursday, 2–4 PM, register at 828-259-5881. Go with the Promise Tracker and write down what they tell you.
The next meetings across the region, from the site’s calendar:
- Friday, October 9: voter registration deadline for the Nov 3 general election; same-day registration remains available during early voting.
- Transylvania County: Monday, October 12, 6:00 PM: Transylvania County Board of Commissioners, 101 S. Broad St., Brevard, NC. Agenda not yet posted.
- Asheville: Tuesday, October 13, 5:00 PM: Asheville City Council, Council Chamber, 2nd floor of City Hall (in person). Agenda not yet posted.
- Macon County: Tuesday, October 13, 6:00 PM: Macon County Board of Commissioners, 5 West Main Street, Franklin, NC 28734. Agenda not yet posted.
- Madison County: Tuesday, October 13: Madison County Board of Commissioners, NC Cooperative Extension - Madison Center. Agenda not yet posted.
- Thursday, October 15: early voting begins; it runs through Saturday, Oct 31.
- Haywood County: Monday, October 19, 5:30 PM: Haywood County Board of Commissioners, 215 N Main Street, Waynesville, NC 28786. Agenda not yet posted.
- Buncombe County: Tuesday, October 20, 5:00 PM: Buncombe County Board of Commissioners, 200 College St, Room 326 (Commission Chambers, 3rd Floor), Asheville, NC 28801. Agenda not yet posted.
- Jackson County: Tuesday, October 20, 6:30 PM: Jackson County Board of Commissioners, 401 Grindstaff Cove Road, Sylva, NC 28779. Agenda not yet posted.
- Brevard: Monday, October 26, 3:30 PM: Brevard City Council Public Safety Committee, 95 W Main St, Brevard, NC 28712. Agenda not yet posted.
- Tuesday, November 3: Election Day.
The rules
Comment runs 3 minutes per speaker, capped at 1 hour per item. On May 12, 2026, 21 signed-up speakers were not reached. So:
- Arrive early and sign up immediately. The list order determines who gets in under the cap.
- Coordinate coverage. Twenty people making the same point uses one argument and twenty slots. Split the ground: one speaker on process, one on the contract, one on the national record, one on cost, one asking a specific question. The Claims Library is organized for exactly this.
- Written comment is unlimited. Email gets into the record even when the clock cuts speakers off; send your full statement regardless of whether you speak.
A three-minute structure
- Who you are (15 sec): name, neighborhood, one line about your stake.
- One fact, sourced (60 sec): a single verified claim beats five vague ones. Pick from the Claims Library and name the source out loud: “The LAPD Inspector General found one in three alerts was a false positive.”
- One specific ask (60 sec): see below. A question or demand creates a record; venting doesn’t.
- The commitment (15 sec): “I’ll be back at the next meeting for the answer.” Then be back.
The asks: specific, answerable, on the record
These are the accountability demands already in motion (CAMS’s core three, plus the structural fix). Any speaker can carry one. For the Flock exit, the eight demands are on Getting Flock Out. The standing asks:
- Post the quote. “The city posted the Axon contract in August. Will the city post the itemized quote it references, Q-808220-46198AS, with products, quantities and the Fusus tier, and the separate contract for 20 in-car readers?” The full list of RTIC asks by addressee: Asking About the RTIC.
- Publish the audit logs. “APD promised quarterly audits of RTIC access. Will those audits be published (not summarized, published), and when is the first one due?”
- Define the ICE policy in writing. “APD says no data goes to federal immigration without a court order. Officers in other cities ran searches for ICE as favors. What policy, with what penalty, prevents that here, and can council see it?”
- Make the promises law. “Will council adopt an ordinance requiring council approval and annual public reporting for surveillance technology, a surveillance-oversight ordinance of the kind other cities have adopted, so APD’s policies can’t change without a public vote?”
- The unanswered 29. “Council member Roney submitted 29 questions to APD in March 2025. Which have been answered, and where can the public read the answers?”
What has been said at the podium
The record so far, so new speakers extend rather than restate:
- A resident, April 14, 2026: “a centralized hub for spying on the people of Asheville.”
- A security consultant, May 12, 2026: Axon doesn’t negotiate: “customers sign what is on the page.”
- A researcher with Axon’s own investor deck, May 12, 2026: documented Axon’s ~25%/year price escalation, the “Flywheel of Growth.”
- A contract negotiator, May 12, 2026: “We aren’t protected by any of the policies you think we have.”
- GAP of Asheville, May 11, 2026: the full oversight bill of particulars: no civilian oversight, no facial recognition ban, vendor lock-in, contract unseen.
What the record still lacks: sustained comment at the Public Safety Committee (where the RTIC reports will land), testimony from people in the communities most exposed (immigrant residents, unhoused residents, protest organizers), and anyone tracking the Promise Tracker items meeting by meeting.
Questions officials have raised, and where the record answers
- Whether use is limited to violent crime. Nothing in the approved package limits it to that; the limits are revisable APD policy. Austin’s 2025 audit found 10 to 20 percent of searches had no documented reason (the table).
- Whether the safeguards are sufficient. The same safeguards were in place in the cities where the documented misuse happened (Camera network misuse, documented cases). Asheville’s are policy, not ordinance (Promise Tracker).
- Whether the grant makes the system free. The grant covers the buildout; the 7.5-year Axon contract and its escalations are Asheville’s. Austin and Denver both weighed ongoing cost against results before acting.
- Whether the cameras solve crimes. No published Asheville figure ties the 3.1 million plate scans to outcomes. The studies and Flock’s own headline claim are reviewed in The Camera Companies’ Safety Record.
Sources for every fact on this page: Claims Library · Timeline · Sources