Gilroy
– Groups that sell safe and sane fireworks this July will pay a
$30,539 fee to fund the city’s fight against the illegal
variety.
Gilroy police, firefighters, and fire marshals are stretched
thin each 4th of July as they respond to numerous calls and some
fires due to illegal fireworks.
By Lori Stuenkel
Gilroy – Groups that sell safe and sane fireworks this July will pay a $30,539 fee to fund the city’s fight against the illegal variety.
Gilroy police, firefighters, and fire marshals are stretched thin each 4th of July as they respond to numerous calls and some fires due to illegal fireworks.
It is widely accepted by fire departments that where safe and legal fireworks are sold, illegal ones that move on the ground or shoot into the air are also found.
“Because in Gilroy we still have the legal use of the safe and sane, the effort is to allow the continued use of the safe and sane, but try and deal with the illegal use in some fashion,” Fire Marshal Jackie Bretschneider said.
Last year was the first time fireworks vendors paid a fee to support the public education and code enforcement efforts of the police department, fire department, and fire marshal’s office. This year’s fee was set in March, and is about $400 less than in 2004.
The 16 non-profit groups that have fireworks booths in Gilroy from July 1 through 4 will add roughly 8 percent to the price of their fireworks to recoup the cost, as they did last year. Gilroy is the only city in Santa Clara County that still sells safe and sane fireworks.
The mitigation fee will fund public education, and overtime hours for police, fire and city crews, along with police dispatchers, who will field calls about illegal fireworks.
“They’re going to be out there – they’re going to confiscate materials, they’re going to try to identify who’s got illegal materials, and they’ll try to do some type of penalty, when they can, of people who have illegal materials,” Bretschneider said.
She said her office plans a different public education strategy from last year.
“We’re looking at doing a bulk mail to the entire city,” she said.
Residents, and businesses, can expect to see the direct mailer sometime in May. Fliers were added to the water bills last June, but some renters do not receive those bills, and the timing was a little late, Bretschneider said.
“I think the message needs to get out that there will be a legal consequence (for violators),” she said. “If you don’t buy it at a legal fireworks stand in Gilroy between July 1 and 4, it’s not legal.”
People who live in certain areas, such as against a hillside or near vegetation, may not use any fireworks.
Police can charge residents who use illegal fireworks with a misdemeanor or infraction, and are researching the option of imposing an administrative penalty for violating city code, instead. Officers would not have to prove a crime was committed, but would be able to impose a $100 fine.
“It may make it easier to issue a penalty of some kind, which kind of makes it easier for everyone in the long run,” Bretschneider said.
