ROSEVILLE, Calif. — The Roseville city council took the first step in increasing illegal fireworks fines and updating regulations at a Wednesday meeting.
Rather than implement a total ban on fireworks, the city council wanted to focus on increasing enforcement of illegal fireworks and continue only allowing “Safe and Sane" fireworks in Roseville.
Once the second reading of the ordinance is approved, fines will increase from $100, $200 and $500 for a first, second and third offense to $750 for a first offense and $1,000 for every following offense. Each illegal firework would be a separate offense.
Also, if someone has 25 pounds or less of illegal fireworks, it won't be capped as an infraction but could be cited as a misdemeanor.
Law enforcement and emergency responders could also charge the person for the actual costs of responding to a call for illegal fireworks, which could range from a few hundred to several thousand dollars. This charge would be on top of the fine.
A "host" ban will punish the property owner who allows someone to use and store illegal fireworks on their property. The host fine would be the same, so it would be $750 for the first firework and $1,000 for every subsequent firework found.
Roseville Mayor Bruce Houdesheldt asked why Roseville's fines weren't as high as Sacramento County's, which is $1,000 for the first violation, $2,500 for the second violation within one year of the first violation and $5,000 for each additional violation within one year of the first violation.
Based on the city charter, administrative fines are capped at $1,000, so to raise them, they would need to amend the city charter, according to Assistant City Attorney Joseph Speaker.
"I wish we would go back and do something stronger. I think it's not a deterrent for someone outside of the community and come here," Houdesheldt said.
The city doesn't have enough time to get a charter amendment on the November ballot but could amend the charter in the future, according Speaker.
Speaker also said the city attorney's office has a city prosecutor who can prosecute violations under state law, which carries fines more than $10,000. This would be through the criminal process, not an administrative fine.
Houdesheldt abstained from the vote, saying the ordinance wasn't a strong enough deterrent, which counted as a nonvote. Other council members voted to approve the first reading of the ordinance, four to one.
There is also a community outreach plan to inform people in Roseville about the new fireworks regulations.
Discussions for increasing enforcement were brought up at an August 2023 city council meeting. Then, at a January city council meeting, council members heard from staff including Fire Chief Rick Bartee and Police Chief Troy Bergstrom.
"This last Fourth of July was a busy time for fire and police working together and running around for fireworks that occurred plus a couple of vegetation fires that occurred 40+ acres burning at one time," Bartee said at a previous meeting. "While Troy and I were both still working there, people were still shooting them off over our heads while we were still working this fire."
Bergstrom said calls they get on a typical day such as DUI, domestic violence, fights and more still happen on top of the fireworks-related calls.
"I think this last year we were up 111, 115 fireworks complaints that came in just in that window of time. It is the single busiest night of the year for us," Bergstrom said at a previous meeting. "It makes it exceptionally difficult for us to keep up on calls for service, especially time-consuming calls."
In California, fireworks fines may increase based on a sliding scale with less than 24 pounds being a $1,000-$2,000 fine, between 25 to 100 pounds being between a $2,000-$10,000 fine, between 100 to 5,000 pounds being between a $10,000-$20,000 fine and more than 5,000 pounds being between $20,000-$100,000.
Placer County doesn't allow any fireworks, including "Safe and Sane." Find out more information about state and local laws for fireworks HERE.
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