Those that chose to break the law and ignore city warnings about launching illegal fireworks over the Fourth of July weekend may still burn through more money in the coming months.
Manteca will be issuing 109 administrative citations for the discharge of illegal fireworks.
The vast majority were caught using three drones equipped with high resolution video and global positioning systems to pinpoint addresses from which illegal fireworks were launched.
That included 65 incidents drones documented on the Fourth of July alone that meet the rigid standard needed to make the $1,000 fine stick in the administrative law process.
It is two shy of being triple the 37 citations issued last year.
Under state law, as long as the police gather certain levels of data, the offending property owner does not need to be informed in person.
That means 109 property owners in the coming weeks may be surprised to receive a $1,000 citation in the mail.
Police Chief Stephen Schluer indicated Monday he believes the 109 that will be paying the $1,000 fine will help reduce launches of illegal fireworks next year.
A spot check with residents in neighborhoods east of Highway 99, near Manteca High, and around the Woodward Park area indicated a consensus the illegal fireworks were not as intense as last year but they were still at an unacceptable level.
“We’re never going to get rid of all of the illegal fireworks,” Mayor Gary Singh said. “But those that get cited aren’t likely to do it again.”
Singh who rode along on a Fourth of July police team along with Police Chief Stephen Schluer through midnight on Friday, noted while there were steady illegal launches they were down from last year with notable exceptions of several areas such as around East Union High.
He said Woodward Park, that seemed in previous years to be the worst area for illegal launches, had less activity this year.
The city has been criticized on social media by some for enforcing the state law that clearly outlaws the use of any aerial fireworks that are manufactured to take flight or modified to do so except at permitted and controlled public aerial displays such as the one the city conducted near the Big League Dreams sports complex.
The social media critics contend the only reason the city is issuing citations for illegal fireworks is to “make money.”
A Woodward Park area resident, that did not want to have their name used, had no problem with the city dishing out $1,000 fine for people blatantly violating state and local laws for basically the same reasons the City Council stressed as to why they were undertaking the stepped up enforcement.
*The significant increase illegal fireworks create for fires.
*The constant noise that disturbs the peace and creates issues for those with PSTD.
*The stress it puts family pets under.
And while generating revenue for the general fund was never the goal, those paying for the illegal firework launches will allow the city to cover holiday pay for police and firefighters as well as overtime pay for police needed to deploy three drone teams as well as two on-the-ground teams to enforce the illegal fireworks ban on the ground.
The 109 citations also likely means the costs the city incurs for street closures and street cleanup after the parade may be covered as well.
The same is true for the roughly $40,000 price tag for the city’s aerial fireworks show that was launched near the Big League Dreams sports complex.
To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com
