On Jan. 16 the Lompoc City Council reviewed a report on the safe and sane fireworks program, specifically the “Finances and Options for use of Surplus Fireworks Program Funds.”
In order to acquire a permit to sell safe and sane fireworks in Lompoc, the applicant must pay a 4 percent surcharge, and according to the staff report it “requires the wholesaler to pay the city for that distributor’s pro rata share of a $10,000 contribution to fireworks task force costs inclusive of administrative, regulatory, and enforcement oversight incurred during the period that fireworks may be sold by the applicable permit and which are not reimbursed by the surcharge.”
Some of the funds were earmarked to provide a public fireworks display; however, the licensed fireworks exhibition companies have surveyed the city and explained in public meetings that there are no locations in the city limits that meet the safety parameters required to put on such a display. So the city has been providing a free, very well attended gathering at Ryon Park using fees collected to celebrate the day.
When the so-called safe and sane fireworks ordinance was sold to the public back in 2013 it included the following provision in the Lompoc Municipal Code 8.28.120 G: “It shall be unlawful for any person to: possess, store, sell, display, ignite, discharge, project, or otherwise fire or make use of dangerous fireworks anywhere in the city at any time, except in accordance with a license issued by the state fire marshal for a city-permitted fireworks display.”
One of the uses for the revenue collected from the sale of safe and sane fireworks was to fund enforcement of this provision of the municipal code. However, to date the use of dangerous fireworks has increased to a several days a week occurrence, year-round in some neighborhoods.
The nonprofit groups that obtain permits to sell the fireworks want a refund or reduction of the fees they pay. The staff report says, “The average annual costs incurred by the enforcement task force during 2022-23 was $5,516. The balance of the Enforcement Task Force account at the end of the 2023 calendar year, which is currently being held in trust by the city, is $60,871. Of that total, $47,434 is attributable to booth fees and $13,437 to the 4 percent surcharge.”
Discharging aerial and explosive fireworks is a public nuisance, and the legalizing of safe and sane fireworks seemed to empower some people to think that any type of firework was allowed. Storage of these dangerous explosives presents an unknown hazard to first responders if a fire occurs.
Councilman Jeremy Ball noted that “fireworks are an issue in every city”; he was right. Then he asked the police chief “we have part of our process here a fee associated with enforcement, but what are we getting for that investment?”
The police chief indicated that a review of past enforcement efforts has established that it has been sporadic and ineffective at best because it relied on first-person witnessing of the specific individual who was violating the ordinance, which is next to impossible in most situations. Then he said, last year “there were 440 calls for fireworks related” incidents, and officers were only able to issue “one or two tickets.”
Some have suggested using a Police Department drone to spot violators; however, the chief pointed out that those drones cost more than $15,000, and he was unwilling to risk “fireworks taking it out of the sky.”
That is a legitimate concern, and as a taxpayer I appreciate his concern.
Then Ball asked, “Should we keep this fee?” The chief replied that realistically he doesn’t see a time when he would have enough staff to provide effective enforcement.
Councilwoman Gilda Cordova noted that “removing or reducing the fee is not the answer because there is an impact on the city” and that it “wasn’t people who purchased safe and sane fireworks that were causing the problem.” But she also noted that if the council banned safe and sane, the problem with illegal fireworks would still exist.
Mayor Jenelle Osborne noted that “we all hear it constantly about enforcement; we desperately need to figure out a model to respond to the demand almost year-around.” She doesn’t want to “reduce the enforcement funding.”
The council unanimously agreed to lower some of the event fees to reflect actual event costs of putting on a program at Ryon Park and retain the enforcement fee charged to nonprofits and directed staff to come back with a workable enforcement plan.
We’ll have to see what the public safety and code enforcement team comes up with to address this booming nuisance.
Ron Fink writes to the Sun from Lompoc. Send a letter for publication to [email protected].
