One of our stories for Friday’s Post-Dispatch focuses on the town of Columbia, Ill., where residents are ponying up tax dollars to pay for a network of video cameras.

Says the story:

“Columbia, with a population of about 9,000, has 11 known cameras trained over the town’s 9 square miles. It’s a sleepy town with a big city approach to crime. Columbia police have turned to the cameras as a basic element of law enforcement, saying they’ll do whatever it takes to keep the town safe. But a civil rights group worries that advancing technology could allow police to spy on residents outside of public places.”

The city appropriated $2,250 for a park security camera in 2005. Police said they wanted to crack down on thousands of dollars worth of vandalism at city parks. In 2006, officials budgeted $8,400 for two more surveillance cameras. Last year, the budget included $18,000 for wireless surveillance cameras. Other money is spent on monitors and staffing, but the total amount spent on the program is unclear.

The story notes that crime hasn’t been a big problem in the city, though vandalism has dropped in the parks.

Would you be comfortable with city-owned cameras privy to every move you make? Some argue that if you’re not doing anything wrong, you don’t have anything to worry about. Does that argument wash with you?