WNC Surveillance Watch.

Macon County

Where it stands
removed; network membership still listed
The systems
  • Flock Safety. 12 county cameras removed after the commissioners' July 14, 2026 vote, 5 to 0; the sheriff's office lost access to all 16 on the account; four school cameras unresolved; the county still appears on network membership lists.Flock Safety
Next
  • Tuesday, October 13, 6:00 PM: Macon County Board of Commissioners. Agenda not yet posted.

Macon County commissioners voted 5 to 0 on July 14, 2026 to end the sheriff’s Flock contract; the cameras came down.

Timeline

what was builtwhat communities changedahead, still undecidedwhat was reported
July 14, 2026Changed
Macon commissioners vote 5 to 0 to end the county's Flock contract The board barred the Sheriff's Office from spending county funds on Flock and moved to terminate the contract "as soon as possible" (ahead of its October expiration), with over 100 residents packing the room. (Smoky Mountain News · the meeting video · Communities that ended or limited camera contracts · Getting Flock Out) Meeting record
After the voteChanged
Macon sheriff's office loses access to all 16 Flock cameras MCSO lost access to all 16 cameras ("no one has access now"); the four school cameras entered limbo, deferred to school leaders who say neither MCSO nor Flock has contacted them.
By mid-August 2026Changed
Macon's Flock removal holds; the sheriff says he respects the decision No reinstatement effort, and no crime-spike claims. Sheriff Holbrooks says he "respects the decision" while still defending the tool.
November 2026Ahead
Macon commission candidate who opposes Flock is on the November ballot Commission candidate Dylan Castle (Republican, pastor, county GOP vice-chair) spoke against Flock on constitutional grounds and advanced to the November general (a sheriff's office captain lost the same primary).

Who decides here

Josh Young (chair) · John Shearl (made the motion; on the ballot) · Barry Breeden (seconded) · candidate Dylan Castle · Sheriff Brent Holbrooks · Macon Media (independent video).

The vote: how it happened

Motion by John Shearl, seconded by Barry Breeden (a former sheriff’s deputy who came in “50-50”), with Chair Josh Young, who had leaned toward his sheriff until he asked around town and found the residents who knew about the cameras “almost entirely against them” (the Smoky Mountain News’s paraphrase). Shearl, to the Flock rep sent to defend the product: “I don’t mean any disrespect, but you are like a car salesman” (NC Local, July 30, 2026).

The numbers that did it: 16 cameras (12 county, 4 schools), a $31,950 contract grown to ~$47,000/year, logging 1–3 million plates a month in a county of 37,000.

What’s happened since the vote

  • The four school cameras are still unresolved: commissioners deferred them to school leaders; the school system says neither MCSO nor Flock has contacted them about the cameras on their buildings. No school-board vote has ever been taken.
  • False claims circulated online that Franklin had Flock cameras (it has none), and town officials reported threats during the July 2026 debate.

The board’s first regular meeting after the removal, September 8, 2026, did not touch the cameras: no agenda item, and none of the six residents at public comment raised them (county recording, 1 hour 58 minutes).

The commission candidates on the cameras (Sept 16, 2026)

Three commission seats are on the Nov 3, 2026 ballot. The Smoky Mountain News interviewed the five challengers; the one incumbent running, John Shearl (District 1), who made the removal motion, declined to be interviewed (Smoky Mountain News, Sept 16).

  • District 1: Russ Lunn (D) supported defunding the cameras: “You have to go with what the people want.” The paper reports Lunn would consider plate readers again under tighter limits on data retention.
  • District 2: Kellie McConnel Burns (R), asked about the removal: “With so many legitimate concerns from our constituents about a potential Fourth Amendment violation, we have a responsibility to slow down,” adding that any approved technology must “protect both public safety and the rights” of residents. Terry Bell (D): no answer on the cameras in the article.
  • The third seat: Dylan Castle (R): “I would be very leery of bringing any type of system back, Axon or any of it.” Janet Greene (D): the paper reports Greene favors strict limits on how surveillance data is used and penalties for misuse.

After the vote: the paperwork that still applies

Removing the cameras did not remove the county from the network. “Macon County NC SO” remains on Henderson County’s published list of agencies granted access to Henderson’s plate reads (Aug 22, 2026); whether anyone in Franklin still logs in is a records question. Macon has no 287(g) agreement with ICE (ICE list, Aug 21, 2026), and its sheriff, like every sheriff in the state, now operates under HB 318’s mandatory ICE notification rules (What the Law Lets the County Do). The November commission fields are on Ballotpedia; a week after the vote, neighboring Haywood County’s chairman cited Macon by name as the example his county would not follow.

Watchdogs and video

The independent outlet Macon Media films Franklin council (which has no official video) and county meetings; the county commissioners’ channel carries the official record, including the July 14 vote. Smoky Mountain News (Kyle Perrotti) has the deepest coverage.

Related: Western North Carolina and the state · Communities that ended or limited camera contracts · Getting Flock Out

Last verified: September 10, 2026