Thursday, January 25, 2007

What Are Other Cities Doing About Fireworks?

While the Fontana City Council's approach was to ban State-Approved Fireworks (SAF), two other cities had simultaneous ordinance considerations on their agendas. Here's how they chose to handle things:

Grand Terrace:
Following a lengthy debate, the City Council has agreed to keep fireworks legal...

City officials said that without the sale of fireworks, the city would not have been able to afford increased enforcement against illegal fireworks last year...

[City Manager Tom] Schwab said fireworks are a problem even in cities that have banned them.

"Even if you outlaw them, all the fireworks are still going to be here," he said.
Whittier:
Bringing a little sizzle back to the holiday, Whittier City Council members have OK'd "safe and sane" fireworks this Fourth of July, reversing a ban that had been in place since 1986...

By legalizing fireworks and charging permit fees to local civic groups that will sell them, the city will raise enough money to add officers beginning June 28, Councilman Joe Vinatieri said.

"There had been very little enforcement" in the past, Vinatieri said. "There's going to be two-person patrol teams deployed citywide."
In other words, they are using the revenue-generating potential of State-Approved Fireworks sales to help protect their cities from illegal fireworks, while preserving the rights of their citizens to celebrate Independence Day and their nonprofit groups to benefit their communities with needed funding. This sounds like a "Win" for everybody.

As opposed to the unnecessary loss just imposed on the citizens and service groups of Fontana.