A large focus of smart cities and data governance is on emergency situations, but that emphasis misses how data will also, and perhaps more often, be used for everyday decisions. Cities are likely to look to the private sector to provide at least the data gathering and processing infrastructures, if not the overall services, cities wish to pursue. This point raises questions about the ethics and power at stake in such relationships. Initial attention and intentions about how such systems will be built, maintained, and remain within the control of elected officials are vital issues that may help prevent misuse and abuse of systems that start with beneficial goals but end up with undesired outcomes.