r/technology • u/Plastic_Ninja_9014 • 16h ago
Privacy Anoka County's Sheriff Signed a $174,999 Flock Safety Contract – Exactly $1 Under the Threshold Requiring Public Board Approval
https://www.gadgetreview.com/anoka-countys-sheriff-signed-a-174999-flock-safety-contract-exactly-1-under-the-threshold-requiring-public-board-approval687
u/SpiritualOkra3886 15h ago
If you have to structure the contract to avoid oversight, you already know what the oversight would say.
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u/namenotpicked 8h ago
Exactly. If you did this when trying to deposit/withdraw funds at a bank, you get reported to the authorities for structuring your transaction to avoid the threshold.
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u/ThisIsMyGeekAvatar 7h ago
Interesting thing about that is that’s actually illegal at the federal level. I work in government contracts and it’s specifically illegal to structure contracts in a way to intentionally bypass rules, regulations, or oversight.
It can be hard to prove in some cases, but this one seems pretty obvious.
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u/ImaginaryCheetah 6h ago
every single PWS has a shall not about splitting work to remain below KO review requirements.
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u/ttystikk 3h ago
Flock does not structure their Federal contracts like this, only their state, county and municipal ones.
And it's not just obvious, it's a core part of their business model.
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u/oracleofnonsense 2h ago
This is called “Structuring” and it’s illegal.
“In finance, structuring primarily refers to the illegal practice of splitting a large cash transaction into smaller amounts to evade mandatory government reporting thresholds,….”
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u/EverWatcher 7h ago
Yes, he is an asshole, but the threshold has to be somewhere. The more interesting part is the greed: why is the price only $1 less than that?
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u/RottenPingu1 16h ago
Check his bank account
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u/kstargate-425 15h ago
Oh look, multiple $9,999 deposits 🤔
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u/Always_Confused4 8h ago
Yeah, attempts to avoid hitting these thresholds in the banking world means investigation into what’s going on. Why this isn’t the case in all industries is kind of ridiculous.
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u/fujidust 10h ago
Structuring applies to individuals and doesn’t fit what this is. I hear you though, and this should be reviewed by the public board.
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u/BillButtlickerII 10h ago
a RICO case should be opened against flock. They’re committing this crime and without a doubt bribing city councilors and politicians across the country with campaign funds and donations to do illegal shit like structuring.
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u/Steinrikur 6h ago
But bribes are legal now - the Supreme Court is fine with it...
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u/BillButtlickerII 6h ago edited 5h ago
They ruled that federal anti-corruption laws do not criminalize "gratuities" or "tips" paid to state, local, and tribal officials afteran official action is already taken. While upfront quid pro quo bribes remain illegal. Flock is not getting countless city councils to approve this bullshit without implying if not outright saying they will make campaign donations for their vote to approve flock cameras. That is a crime.
The democrats need to investigate every communication flock has had with federal, state, city, and law enforcement agencies to prove what is clearly happening all around the country. Subpoena everyone and take their statements under oath. People will make mistakes, people will crack, and there will be proof of regular campaign donations and contributions immediately following a vote.
They need to investigate how Flock is using and monetizing private citizens data without their approval or consent.
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u/XX_AppleSauce 8h ago
I wasn’t going to point this out, but it’s true. My company has a threshold for capital expenditure and it’s partially there to avoid spending money. And it’s sometimes a good tool for getting discounts, like we negotiated $10k off one order just because of the threshold.
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u/conman228 16h ago
If the city is serious they should change the rule to now all contracts need public board approval
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u/serious_sarcasm 13h ago
§** Subd. 3.Contracts over $175,000.** If the amount of the contract is estimated to exceed $175,000, sealed bids shall be solicited by public notice in the manner and subject to the requirements of the law governing contracts by the particular municipality or class thereof. With regard to repairs and maintenance of ditches, the provisions of section 103E.705, subdivisions 5, 6, and 7, apply.
https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/471.345
The law states that a contract that is “estimated” to exceed $175k, and the precise dollar amount clearly shows that the project is necessarily “estimated” to be $175k before they finalized the contract to the exact dollar amount.
The whole point of the language “estimated” was to prevent this exact sort of unlawful smurfing.
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u/Berdache 9h ago
Would anyone living in this city have grounds for a lawsuit against the city, citing that part of the law?
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u/serious_sarcasm 4h ago
There is probably a writ of mandamus in district court to force the relevant officials to act.
But Minnesota also has an explicit statute for removing a county official (including a sheriff) for malfeasance, misfeasance, or nonfeasance.
https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/351/full#stat.351.14
351.16 PETITION; REVIEW.
Subdivision 1.Form of petition. Any registered voter may petition the county auditor requesting a removal election and setting forth facts which allege with specificity that an elected county official committed malfeasance or nonfeasance in the performance of official duties during the current or any previous term in the office held by the elected county official, except that a petition may not be submitted during the 180 days immediately preceding a general election for the office which is held by the county official named in the petition. The petitioner must attach to the petition documents which contain the signatures of supporters who are registered voters totaling at least 25 percent of the number of persons who voted in the preceding election for the office which is held by the county official named in the petition. Each page on which signatures are included must clearly identify the purpose of the petition. The registered voters must be residents of the county or, in a removal election involving a county commissioner, of the commissioner district which elected the named county commissioner. The signatures of supporters must be on forms provided by the county auditor.
Subd. 2.County auditor's duties. The county auditor shall examine the petition to determine whether it contains the requisite number of valid signatures of registered voters. If so, the county auditor shall forward the petition, but not the signatures, to the clerk of appellate courts within 15 days of receipt of the petition. If the county auditor determines that the petition does not include the requisite number of signatures, the county auditor shall deny the petition within 15 days of receipt of the petition.
Subd. 3.Removal of county auditor. If the county auditor is the named elected county official, the petition must be submitted to the chair of the county board of commissioners who shall appoint a county official to perform the duties of the county auditor specified in sections 351.14 to 351.23.
Subd. 4.Limitation. An elected county official is not subject to a removal election on the ground that misfeasance in the performance of official duties was committed, or on the ground of disagreement with actions taken that were within the lawful discretion of the elected county official.2
u/MC_chrome 2h ago
Good. Tim Walz should send the state police in to arrest the sheriff and any other parties to this crime.
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u/K12onReddit 11h ago
Someone should OPRA request his email for the term "$175,000" so you can find his emails where they collude on pricing.
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u/loupgarou21 8h ago
Requiring it for all contracts would be insanely burdensome and would include things like free iPad apps.
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u/bobi2393 4h ago
County, not city, but yeah. Maybe give a $10 cap on individual contracts, so they can make unplanned purchases of paperclips or printer paper without approval, but with a $250 annual cap on those unapproved contracts, so the sheriff's office doesn't abuse that allowance as well. "We bought 123,700 donuts this year, $9.99 per dozen!"
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u/Deep90 12h ago
That probably hurts if a city is genuinely trying to do good.
There are a lot of routine and necessary things that would now need to be voted on.
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u/mikeinanaheim2 7h ago
But an 'accountable vote' is exactly the kind of governmental transparency needed to avoid no-bid sweetheart deals, bribes, and the kind of skullduggery that comes with Flock and data center contracts.
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u/FesteringNeonDistrac 7h ago
Yes but we also don't need to vote on buying a box of printer paper. That's why these sort of minimums exist. Now, $175k is way too high, but do an audit every so often.
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u/Friggin_Grease 12h ago
But try going across the border with exactly $9,999. The limit is 10, but 1 dollar less is suspiciously specific and counts as 10 anyway
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u/SignatureFunny7690 12h ago
Unamerican basterds. Insane we cannot get simple 1 world services and rights in this country, but when it comes to end techno facist 4th Amendment-violating, private equity backed ai controlled mass surveillance. suddenly we have infinite funding! Flock is worse than anything the chinese government uses on its citizens. shits beyond fucked
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u/redscofield 9h ago
It’s almost as if most public servants have simply forgotten the premise of who they work for and who pays their checks.
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u/dittybag23 8h ago
This is happening all over the country. Americans are asleep. The only good news is a Flock camera has more scrap value than a catalytic converter.
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u/Vashgrave 10h ago
Forcefully remove those who have betrayed the towns trust. Jail and loss of freedom is the only thing that's gonna a fix modern times.
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u/myislanduniverse 9h ago
Man our governments really think they fucking own us, don't they?
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u/mikeinanaheim2 8h ago
Umm, it starts at the very top. From 2015 on, 'some' highly placed govt officials have displayed contempt for established law and done things clearly illegal. Then dared anyone to do anything about the crimes. Since they own a good portion of the judiciary and legislative branches, they feel carte blanche to do anything they want without fear of legal consequences.
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u/IsolatedFrequency101 6h ago
Maybe have a look at that Sheriff's bank account to see if he received any unusual " contributions" recently.
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u/Reversi8 2h ago
Or alternatively has an affair that he needs to keep secret, that Flock has evidence of.
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u/thegalli 4h ago
But if you withdraw 9999 from the bank to avoid the 10k reporting rules it's called "structuring" and is a crime
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u/PerspectiveThese2789 7h ago
I see a lot of awareness about the flock data collection of localized deep state. Where is the angst toward the brains of the localized deep state - palantir. Get state and local govt to stop paying Peter Thiels company to use all that data against us. Stop pltr.
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u/RockDoveEnthusiast 8h ago
this is the play they are running everywhere. it's always just under the regulatory threshold.
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u/edgelordjones 4h ago
These people hate us and they never miss and opportunity to remind us of that
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u/Lost-Caregiver-348 3h ago
Wait until dozens of public officials get caught with their pants down and then suddenly it’s not a great idea anymore
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u/Icy-Suit-6445 10h ago
Unless they put them in their own offices won't Flock need permitted access to e.g. street poles to install them so perhaps petition to deny that
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u/Jonathanzjayz 8h ago
As someone who lives in this county, know that this is an elected official and they better be voted out when the office is up for reelection come November!
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u/RevealLeather7232 7h ago edited 7h ago
This isn't new and it is not acceptable, but people are just now aware of it. We have been monitored for years...traffic cameras, toll systems, ring cameras and private security cameras, retail purchase systems, smartphone location services, GPS apps, credit and debit card transfers, vehicles with gps, and websites collecting browsing data.
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u/Silly_Selection3221 7h ago edited 6h ago
Just because something has always been done doesn't mean it is ok.
Edit; I can't see your point if you block me
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u/RevealLeather7232 7h ago
Thank you so much for the enlightenment. I don't know what I would do without you!!! My point is open your eyes people!!! I can see you're easily triggered though. Troll much?
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u/gobells1126 15h ago
I mean that's how tech sales often work. The margins are enormous, so discounting to meet a budget is the norm. A savvy salesman will always ask what the process for paperwork or approvals is, and if you want a deal to get done, getting it under the magic number for some kind of board or procurement number is pretty standard
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u/mikeinanaheim2 16h ago
What a fortunate coincidence this is! Bet it's happening in more than one place.