Even as a growing number of towns end contracts with companies that provide license-plate-reading cameras, the amount of cameras using the technology could expand on state-owned roads.

Why it matters: The State Bureau of Investigation has been piloting a program to put automated license plate recognition (APLR) cameras in the rights-of-way of state roads across North Carolina for the past year.

• The SBI says the cameras are an important tool to solve crimes — but the technology has also been removed from cities in North Carolina and across the country over data privacy and mass surveillance concerns.

Driving the news: The pilot is expected to end in July, but the SBI is requesting funds from state lawmakers to extend it until 2028, create a statewide database for the cameras and hire a coordinator for the program.

• The agency is also asking lawmakers to provide grants to local agencies to buy more cameras, specifically along major interstates and highways and at all entrances to and exits from North Carolina.

Zoom in: SBI Director Chip Hawley requested the extension in a report to lawmakers last month, which was first reported by The News & Observer. The SBI has not responded to requests for comment from Axios.

• The pilot was made possible by a 2024 state law that allowed the N.C. Department of Transportation and the SBI to enter into agreements on placing ALPR cameras on state-owned roads.

By the numbers: Thirty-two agencies participated in the pilot, including the Raleigh Police Department and the N.C. State Highway Patrol. Local agencies have to choose whether to participate in the SBI pilot.

• As of March, those agencies had installed 140 cameras in state rights-of-way, and applications for 75 more were being processed.
• The Raleigh Police Department, for instance, installed three cameras on state roads, which captured more than 14.8 million license plates.

Between the lines: The report says the cameras helped recover dozens of stolen cars, identify a "subject on the terrorist watch list," and lead to arrests in several homicide and drug-trafficking cases.

• Still, the technology has proven controversial in many places. In Pittsboro, signs have popped up on roads pushing for the town to end a contract with Flock over mass surveillance concerns.
• "Public safety really matters," Pittsboro Town Commissioner John Bonitz said of his vote to end the contract, according to WCHL. "And I believe it must be balanced against privacy, property rights, local accountability, and the presumption that citizens are free unless there is individualized suspicion. Governments should not monitor innocent citizens by default."

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Raleigh's city manager is recommending raising property taxes to keep the nearly $1.8 billion city budget humming.

Why it matters: Sadia Sattar, the city's budget director, says increasing certain fees and bumping the property tax rate up 1.7 cents would add $122 a year to the median Raleigh household's tax bill.

• Most of the extra money would go toward public safety, water infrastructure and adding weekly yard waste pickups, according to a proposal released yesterday.

State of play: City Manager Marchell Adams-David said the theme of the budget is "resiliency in the face of uncertainty."

• Total city spending is proposed to shrink 0.9% from last year, and even with the rate increase, property tax revenue is projected to shrink 6% year-over-year.
• Among Triangle cities and towns, only Morrisville has a lower property tax rate.

The intrigue: The Raleigh City Council also voted yesterday to call two bond referendums in the fall. Voters will be asked to approve $203 million, to be spent on affordable housing and transportation.

• In a rarity, city leaders say that won't increase taxes further.
• City staffers credit a decision last year to establish a "steady state model." It diverts money into a fund that every four years can be put toward bonds for shovel-ready projects in areas like housing, transportation and parks.
• Still, voters must approve the spending every four years.

How it works: Council member Megan Patton explained it this way:

• "In my home budget, if I have a car payment and I know it's going to roll off at a certain time, and it's a certain amount, then I can start to plan for the future and say, 'OK, well in November when my car payment rolls off, I can begin to replace my roof' … and keep the overall budget about the same."

What's next: City Council members will workshop the budget in meetings set for the first three Mondays in June.

• A public hearing is set for Tuesday, June 2 at 7pm.

Revisit Wake County's biggest taxpayers

North Carolina's first Asian American immigrants were likely conjoined twins Chang and Eng Bunker. They moved to Mount Airy in the early 1800s, and the city now has a Siamese Twins Museum. (WUNC)

🏘️ Gov. Josh Stein hired a senior advisor for housing policy and signed an executive order aimed at boosting the housing supply. (WRAL)

🏈 UNC-Chapel Hill football coach Bill Belichick went on Sean Hannity's podcast for a "tell-all" interview. He says the team has "a long way to go … but we've made a lot of improvement" in the offseason. (YouTube)

🎨 Carolina Performing Arts announced a new multi-day arts festival will be held Feb. 18-21 in Chapel Hill. (CBS17)

Around four hours from Raleigh is a roughly 5-mile hike with stunning views of the mountains in North Carolina and Tennessee.

Why it matters: If high flight prices have you rethinking your summer travel plans, there's plenty to do in and around North Carolina.

Context: The Roan Highlands trails take you along part of the Appalachian Trail, which stretches nearly 2,200 miles from Georgia to Maine.

• 16.9 million people visited the trail in 2025, according to the nonprofit Appalachian Trail Conservancy.

What's next: If you visit the Roan Highlands in late-June, you may see blooming rhododendrons.

• The Rhododendron Gardens are open Memorial Day through Sept. 30.

Keep reading for a day trip from Carvers Gap Trailhead