While the steady flow of box office returns for The Odyssey continues setting new records, referencing the film’s source material helped one elected official illustrate her concerns about Solvang’s AI-enabled surveillance cameras.
“I’m going to say this as frankly as I can. I don’t won’t to Trojan Horse a bunch of functionality in here that gets turned on later,” Solvang City Councilmember Elizabeth Orona said during an Aug. 10 hearing.
“The cameras have this capability—the facial recognition and license plate recognition,” she continued. “Do we have the rights to use that functionality?”
City staff confirmed at that council meeting that although Solvang’s six cameras—stationed throughout town—don’t currently use either of the functions Orona brought up, those tools are at the council’s disposal if desired.
“We have access to the software, and it’s a simple toggle, where you toggle on or off, for the license plate reader, the facial capability,” Olivia Uribe-Mutal, assistant to the city manager, said. “It’s currently all disabled, but should a future council come in 10 years and say, ‘Oh, we’d like to revise that policy,’ then they could very well do that.”
“That’s exactly what we don’t want to happen, … in any instance,” Orona said. “From my perspective, sorry, I’ll speak just for myself. … People need to come to Solvang and not feel like they’re being surveilled.”
Orona was the sole dissenter in the council’s 4-1 vote to green-light a pilot program that will test how solar panels could power three AI-enabled cameras already approved for installation.
Implementing the panels required a $40,000 increase to the city’s purchase agreement—originally approved in 2025 not to exceed $147,000 for nine cameras—with Bakersfield-based camera provider XIT Solutions.
While six cameras are currently operational, delays to install the contract’s remaining three cameras occurred due to a lack of “reliable electricity,” according to the staff report, near some locations in town that staff identified for installation.
“Rather than relocate these cameras or defer their installation, staff explored on-site power generation as the optimal solution using solar panels,” Uribe-Mutal wrote in the staff report.
After Orona questioned staff about the cameras’ capabilities, no other council members made remarks before Mayor David Brown opened the floor to public comment. There were no public speakers.
“So, we’re back here for action,” Brown said to his peers on the dais. “Anybody?”
Councilmember Mark Infanti then motioned to approve the contract increase, which passed 4-1 (Orona dissented) without further discussion.
In 2025, Orona was part of the 5-0 vote to approve the city’s video surveillance policy, which staff described at the time as requiring separate resolutions in the future from the council to amend data-collection and data-sharing protocols.
This article appears in August 13 – August 20, 2026.
