Green River rejects nearly $112,000 license-plate-reader grant after public opposition

Green River’s mayor and City Council voted 6-1 on July 7 against accepting a nearly $112,000 grant to install automated license-plate readers around city entrances, rejecting the proposed grant-funded installation after residents spoke against it during the meeting.

The grant award was identified as $111,956. The proposal involved approximately four cameras for the Green River Police Department. With the council’s vote, the department did not receive approval to accept the grant for that project at the July 7 meeting.

What officials considered

The Green River Police Department had sought approval to accept the grant for automated license-plate readers. The city agenda described the equipment as a proposed system of about four cameras positioned around entrances to Green River.

Green River applied through Wyoming Office of Homeland Security grant programs, and the grant was awarded in January 2026. Local reporting described the proposal as an anti-terrorism and public-safety grant project, while the council debate focused on the use of surveillance technology and the conditions attached to the funding.

The July 7 decision followed public opposition at the council meeting. Residents raised objections to the proposal, creating a direct public debate over privacy, police technology, grant funding and public safety before the council took its vote.

What the vote means

For residents and people entering Green River, the immediate result is that the proposed cameras were not approved through this grant at this stage. The vote rejects the grant-funded installation considered by the council; it does not establish a permanent ban on all license-plate readers in Green River.

The public record and reporting available for the vote do not establish whether the city may seek a different grant, reconsider the proposal or pursue another surveillance system later. They also do not identify the council member who cast the dissenting vote.

The decision leaves the city’s proposed license-plate-reader project unresolved beyond the July 7 action. It also shows how a grant-backed public-safety proposal can prompt questions from residents about privacy and oversight before local officials commit to the technology.

As of the approved record, no later deadline or next council action is identified.