Fireworks control remains a hot topic
Consensus hasn't easy on permits and key points in local debate
Muskego — Even though fireworks are an explosive issue in Muskego, city officials are tiny bit closer to muffling the disagreement about how their use should be regulated.
The city is still trying to reach a consensus on changing the rules for fireworks permits.
The Finance Committee tends to favor limiting fireworks at private homes to four days instead of anytime from July 1 to 7. Which days would be up to the homeowners, but police would have a list of who can shoot them off and when.
Law-abiders sizzled?
But lots of fireworks-lovers and some committee members at the Aug. 24 Finance Committee discussion said the people who play by the rules and buy permits should not be penalized with additional restrictions. The real problem comes from inconsiderate people and those who do not bother to buy permits, they said.
They called for finding the abusers and fining them big.
"Law-abiding citizens who get permits are being penalized," said resident Larry LeFabvre.
Burned by permit-holders, too
But others said permit people sometimes are indeed the problem.
Julie Pierson of Garnet Drive said that, in her neighborhood, hot fireworks debris has landed on her roof or burned holes in her boat cover. The drunker the people using the fireworks get, the bolder (and louder) they get, she said. She happens to know that these particular users have a city permit.
"I'm scared to death my home is going to burn down," Pierson said, noting that her whole block came to the meeting because they want more controls.
Under the proposed changes to the fireworks ordinance, permit holders who violate the permit would be reviewed by the Finance Committee if they want a permit the next year.
Shooting for permit control
Mayor John Johnson said part of the key is getting more people to buy permits because then the city would have more leverage in getting them to behave responsibly. Johnson guessed that maybe 1,000 homes shoot off fireworks, but only 65 permits were obtained this year.
Johnson also favored upping fines for those caught without permits. Currently, the fine is $145.
Police also should get some help to enforce fireworks bans, possibly by fining the property owner for violations, Johnson said.
It is hard enough to single out homes launching fireworks illegally, he said. And when police find the house, the people there claim they don't know who shot off the fireworks so police can ticket them, Johnson said.
Other smoldering issues
The committee also still has not agreed on what hours are acceptable for fireworks or on whether a simple complaint should trigger a Finance Committee review and whether the person complaining should have to come to state their case.
The current hours for fireworks are 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. The suggestion is to limit fireworks to evenings - 8 p.m. to 10 p.m.
But many people like the kind of fireworks that are shot off during the day, and others with large displays intended for the evening need to test their fireworks, Alderman Keith Werner said.
If the Finance Committee can reach a consensus on changing the city's approach to fireworks, it will make a recommendation to the Common Council.
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