SIDNEY -- The Sidney City Council Tuesday, three of the five members present, decided Tuesday to delay a decision on a proposed agreement with Placer.ai. 

"Placer is a location analytics software powered by mobile data. Placer monitors tens of millions of mobile devices across the United States to provide data on any physical location," according to the presentation made by Economic Development Director Brandy Stone in the May 14 city council meeting. 

In the May 14 council meeting, Stone said Placer.ai collects only location data, not the device's identification or PII (Personal Identifiable Information).

In the meeting, Sidney resident Barbara Perez said Stone "glazed over" Placer's dangers. Stone and Tourism Director Kendra Mitchell met with News Channel Nebraska later in the week after the May 14 meeting when they explained that personal data is not wanted and will not be accepted. Stone said the company clearly states it does not collect personal information.

In the May 28 council meeting, Perez asked the council to consider both sides of the issue before making a decision. 

"I initially requested to be on the agenda to talk about the whole Placer.ai program and wasn't able to to that. So, I just want to formally go on record as requesting that an informal town hall meeting take place so that members of the public can come in and hear both sides, not just one side of why its good or why its bad because ultimately its the citizens and residents of the area that are ultimately affected by this," Perez said.

She said people should not be sacrificing personal information for the sake of marketing. Perez said the public needs to have a voice because "ultimately they would have to opt into the program." She asked if half the people aren't interested in the program, would it be worth buying.

In a previous interview, Stone and Cheyenne County Tourism Director Kendra Mitchell said the information is not personal data, and the information is collected by other sources. Placer.ai uses it to show social movement. It does not provide personal identity information. Additionally, people would need to "opt out" by changing the GPS settings on their mobile phones.

The council present at the meeting -- vice-mayor Paul Strommen, and councilmen Brock Buckner and Brandon Bondegard -- agreed the decision would be best with a full council and an opportunity for more of the public to speak.

The next council meeting will be 5:30 p.m. June 11.