Legalizing fireworks was a good move, council told

By BRIAN BURNES

In the view of Independence officials, legalized fireworks have proved a largely positive experience for the city.

One fireworks-related injury was reported over the Independence Day holiday, and the fire department responded to two fireworks-related blazes, both involving residences. One caused $20,000 worth of damages, the other $8,000.

Yet the new fireworks ordinance allowed police to use their resources more effectively, because they weren’t responding to so many fireworks calls.

“The ordinance significantly increased police efficiency,” Brad Halsey, a department major, told City Council members Monday night.

The ordinance, approved in January, allowed the legal sale and use of certain fireworks within city limits. The city issued 12 vendor licenses to nonprofit agencies. Those vendors sold “almost half a million dollars worth of fireworks,” said Jim Harlow, city finance director.

Of the reported $448,359 in revenues, the city received $5,044 in sales taxes.

That, combined with $9,750 realized from non-refundable $250 application fees, meant the city ultimately generated $14,794.

If the council continues the program, said City Manager Robert Heacock, sales tax receipts could be designated in coming years for programs such as fire education or police overtime during the Fourth of July holiday.

Police officials noted a significant decrease in the number of calls this past Independence Day, said Halsey, and a similar decrease in overtime costs. In 2008 the city paid out nearly $4,500 in overtime during the Independence Day holiday, compared to less than $800 this year, Halsey said.

Fire officials, meanwhile, experienced no enforcement problems with the vendors, said chief fire inspector Gene Gould. On some occasions, vendors set up too close to buildings. On others, vendors would leave their storage trailers open and unsecured.

Fire department personnel made about 200 inspections, Gould said, and all vendors were cooperative when alerted to issues.

Council member Jim Schultz, noting that many vendors seem to be clustered in south Independence, wondered whether placing an equal number of booths in all four council districts could stimulate the economy in more locations.

He also wondered whether it would be more fair to limit nonprofit agencies to one booth. Although the vendors were selected by a random process, some wound up with more than one license.

After Halsey noted that bottle rockets, not allowed by the ordinance, were still used in Independence, council member Will Swoffer noted that the general din on Independence Day told him that not all fireworks used in Independence complied with the ordinance.

Some “sounded to me like a half a stick of dynamite,” Swoffer said. “Those are the things that can cause severe damage to structures or people.”

But Swoffer said the ordinance had many benefits. “I endorse it,” he said.

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