CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (WZTV) — Clarksville city leaders are considering a resolution that would allow the city to keep the identities of certain cybersecurity vendors confidential, raising questions about how the city plans to balance the security of its technology systems with public access to government records.
Resolution 10-2026-27 is expected to come before the Clarksville City Council during its regular meeting Thursday evening. The meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. at City Council Chambers.
The proposal would apply to companies providing goods or services used to protect Clarksville’s electronic information processing systems, telecommunications systems, data storage systems and certain other technology infrastructure.
Under the Tennessee Public Records Act, government records are generally open for public inspection unless state law makes them confidential. Tennessee law also allows a governmental entity’s governing body to vote to make the identities of certain vendors providing cybersecurity-related goods and services confidential.
Clarksville’s proposed resolution would exercise that option.
Why does Clarksville want to keep the vendor names confidential?
FOX 17 News asked the city what the change would mean for taxpayers and what information would remain available to the public.
In a statement, the city said publicly identifying certain companies used to protect its technology could potentially expose vulnerabilities in its information technology systems and infrastructure.
If the resolution is approved, the city says it would redact only the names of vendors associated with covered internal systems.
That could include vendors providing technology used to protect city computer and data systems, telecommunications systems, government employee information and citizen information.
The city says internal security camera systems would also be covered.
What about Clarksville’s license plate readers?
The city specifically clarified that its license plate reader systems, commonly known as LPRs, would not be covered by the resolution when those systems are not part of the city’s cybersecurity network.
That means the identities of those LPR vendors would not be redacted under this resolution, according to the city.
How much taxpayer money is involved?
While certain vendor names could become confidential, Clarksville officials say the amount of money the city spends would remain public.
The city provided FOX 17 News with the following breakdown for fiscal year 2026-27:
- $2,184,322 for IT hardware, software and managed services
- $585,600 specifically for cybersecurity hardware, software and managed services
Those expenses come from Clarksville’s General Fund and are taxpayer-funded. The city’s overall General Fund budget for fiscal year 2026-27 totals about $178.7 million.
Clarksville also received a $75,100 State and Local Cybersecurity Grant from the State of Tennessee. According to the city, that money is separate from the General Fund totals and can only be used for new cybersecurity initiatives.
What would remain public?
The city says the resolution would not make its overall cybersecurity spending confidential.
If approved, taxpayers would still be able to see how much the city is spending on covered systems. What could be withheld from public disclosure is the identity of the company providing certain cybersecurity goods or services.
The proposal comes as governments across the country face the challenge of protecting increasingly complex technology systems while maintaining public transparency over taxpayer-funded operations.
Clarksville’s City Council is scheduled to consider the resolution during its regular meeting Thursday at 6 p.m.
