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WHEELING -- City leaders in Wheeling are looking to relight the wick on an ordinance that last year increased the fine for discharging fireworks in the city limits. Officials also hope to increase the fee for temporary vendors who sell fireworks in town.
Councilman Dave Palmer on Tuesday during a meeting of the Public Safety Committee of Council requested that the committee recommend to council that the sunset clause placed on a strengthened fireworks ordinance last June be removed to have the bolstered penalties for illegal fireworks possession continue. Committee Chairman Ben Seidler and member Rosemary Ketchum agreed to forward the recommendation to the full council for consideration.
Last year by majority vote, Palmer championed the effort to have fines raised to $500. With some concerns voiced against the measure - particularly in light of the fact that state law permits the sale of these fireworks - council at that time agreed that a compromise would be to see the fine increase sunset or become inactive in October - which allowed officials to gauge the effectiveness of the ordinance during the summer and through the active fireworks season around July 4. The tweaked ordinance did sunset on Oct. 1 of last year.
"I have statistics from the police department that show the two-week period surrounding July 4 that there were actually four hours of man-hour reductions," Palmer said. "It went down from 16 hours in 2020 for fireworks related calls to 12.28 hours in 2021. So in the first year, there were almost four hours in man-hour reductions, which in those four hours, naturally our officers can be doing other things besides chasing fireworks calls. We all know that they are busy enough."
The city's fireworks ordinance was put in place in 1981, but last year officials noted that, in 2016, the fireworks code for the State of West Virginia changed to permit fireworks, which led to complications. The city's original ordinance prohibits fireworks and levels a fine against those cited for any violation. Yet police officials said a $100 fine -- or $200 penalty including the fine and court costs -- has not been enough to deter people from breaking the law.
Police and fire officials spoke in support of the increased fireworks fines last year. Police department officials noted that they are typically inundated with calls and complaints about fireworks being set off around the Fourth of July holiday, and a bigger deterrent was needed. Fire officials noted that the city’s dense concentration of homes in most neighborhoods makes it very dangerous to set off fireworks safely without posing a fire hazard.
Palmer noted that the city is mandated by state law to allow the sale of fireworks, although the city ordinance prohibits possession. Police officials had previously noted that they had no intention of cracking down on people who purchase or transport fireworks within the city, but intended to enforce the fines against violators who illegally discharge fireworks in town.
"I’d like to propose - in showing some proactivity - to make an amendment to our licensing fees," Palmer said.
Originally, Palmer suggested that the fee be raised to $10,000 per location for each fiscal year.
"The idea is that if these vendors want to pay the money and sell the fireworks, then we’re going to have some money for some enforcement and we’ll have some money for education on the dangers, and some money for safety measures regarding fireworks."
Wheeling City Manager Robert Herron explained that the temporary, pop-up fireworks vendors that appear around the July 4 holiday are licensed under the city’s "itinerant vendors" category, which also include temporary vending for occasions outside of typical annual festivals and events. Other than fireworks, examples of itinerant vendors include sports apparel sales when a team makes the playoffs or wins a championship, or when merchandise is sold in conjunction with an event in which a big-name political figure visits town.
Herron said the fee for itinerant vendors is around $500 to $600. He suggested increasing that fee for now while exploring a Home Rule amendment that can specifically address fireworks vendors.
Palmer adjusted his proposal and suggested recommending an increase in the city’s itinerant vendors fee to $2,000. His fellow committee members unanimously agreed to forward the proposed amendment to city council for consideration.