Wausau's Common Council voted 9-1 on Tuesday to stop using the city's Flock automatic license plate cameras and to have them covered.
There are 20 Flock cameras in the city. Under the motion, a city department chosen by the mayor would need to cover them within two business weeks.
City officials said stopping payment alone would only end the city's access to the system, because Flock owns the cameras and they would keep taking pictures unless covered. The cameras had already been left out of the proposed budget for next year.
Officials from across the political spectrum cited privacy concerns in opposing the cameras. Police officials pushed back, saying investigators have solved crimes with the system that they otherwise would not have.
Police Chief Matt Barnes told the council the city's contract with Flock forbids tampering, and whether covering the cameras counts as a breach would likely be for a court to decide. Barnes said other municipalities have covered their cameras without apparent repercussions so far.
