The high cost of the skies over Manteca channeling Kabul during the Global War on Terror has always hit city taxpayers hard in the pocketbook.

The bump in overtime for increased police and fire staffing was a combined $85,385 in 2025 during the days leading up to — and on — the Fourth of July.

Granted, it could have been much worse if the contract language for rank and file police, firefighters, and dispatchers addressing holiday pay for Fourth of July, Christmas, and Thanksgiving that was in effect as late as 2009 was still in place in 2025.

That’s because the contract called for triple overtime for the public safety employees who ended up working on any of those three holidays.

Fourth of July was by far the most expensive of the three days when it came to triple overtime.

Christmas and Thanksgiving fire and police coverage was normal staffing.

The Fourth and July never has been.

The reasons are simple.

uThe Fourth of July parade and the aerial fireworks involved large crowds requiring additional dedicated police presence.

uCalls for service skyrocketed. Back then, Safe and Sane fireworks couldn’t legally be used in Manteca, but they were. Hot weather combined with celebrating that involved drinking didn’t help things.

It is why previous City Councils would sometimes make the conscious decision to schedule the aerial display and associated events on July 3 to avoid the triple overtime staffing costs ballooned even higher by the need to increase public safety manpower.

The city eventually was able to negotiate its way out of the triple overtime quandary.

But then, they inadvertently stumbled back into inflated Fourth of July staffing costs.

How did they do it?

It was a gesture to help local non-profits.

The City of Manteca decided 21 years to become the only jurisdiction in the region to allow the sale and use of Safe and Sane fireworks.

Initially, local non-profits struck the proverbial Mother Lode.

Buyers flocked to Manteca from a Lathrop, Tracy, and Stockton to buy Safe and Sane fireworks. They then returned to their home towns to use them where it was still illegal to do so.

Eventually, nearby cities decided they couldn’t win, so they joined Manteca in allowing Safe and Sane sales which — by extension under state law — made them legal to use in their jurisdictions.

The Mother Lode wasn’t exactly played out but it dropped off.

Meanwhile, the growing use of Safe and Sane fireworks provided cover for those opting to use illegal fireworks.

That, in turn, sparked more fires — vegetation and even structures.

It led to the need for more firefighters on the job.

Police calls, fed by fireworks use gone wild, spiked.

That’s a bit of background to keep in mind when “digesting” whatever course of action the current council will take after being presented Fire Chief Steve Islas regarding the city’s Safe and Sane fireworks.

As much as some would like, putting the genie back into the bottle would assuredly be an exercise in futility.

The fire chief has made some solid and reasonable recommendations.

They include imposing a $35 booth application fee and upping the current booth fee from $150 to $250.

In doing so, it will come closer to covering the added costs the fire department incurs from the act of inspecting and monitoring the fireworks booths.

He didn’t recommend paring back the current 14 allowed booths.

It is something the council should still entertain doing.

But what, one can legitimately ask, is the city doing to be made financially whole with the surge in illegal fireworks usage made possible by opening the door and allowing the sales of Safe and Sane fireworks?

There is a part of Islas’ report that can answer that question.

Up until 2024, the cost of an additional engine company requiring 72 hours of overtime to address the significant surge of calls for firefighter plus hundreds of hours of OT for law enforcement services was a budget drain.

Illegal fireworks citations hardly covered 40 percent of the added cost once fees were assessed.

That changed in 2025.

Thanks to more robust drone usage, 109 citations were issued with fees assessed soaring to $130,255 last year from $34,965 in 2024.

Deduct $85,385 in overtime costs from the $130,255 in fees, and you have $44,860.

If you think that is “profit,” guess again.

Those “free” aerial fireworks show the city stages cost significantly north of $30,000.

That means the stepped up crackdown on illegal fireworks is allowing the city to cover its added Fourth of July costs.

It is important to be clear on one point.

The city’s illegal fireworks enforcement is driven by public safety.

They are a serious threat to life and property.

It’s a bonus that the fees are covering the city’s added Fourth of July costs.

This sounds a bit wacko, but it’s rooted in reality.

As long as the city does not incur net costs during the Fourth of July, there is no need to go after cost recovery by jacking up fees on the non-profits beyond what the fire chief is recommending to help offset expenses.

It would be great if police are never able again to issue an illegal fireworks citation because everyone is complying with the law.

But that isn’t human nature.

The best outcome is to simply keep the pressure up in a bid to reduce the public safety threat.

And taxpayers can take some comfort in knowing that lawbreakers are footing the bill for the city’s extra costs incurred on and around the Fourth of July.

It is not a money grab at all.

To avoid being slapped with a $1,000 fine, all people have to do is stop using illegal fireworks.

It isn’t quite poetic justice.

But it does ease the financial pain.

And if the day comes when the skies above Manteca only light up around and on the Fourth of July is when the city launches its aerial display, then the city can cut back on its enhanced staffing.

It’s a win, win for everyone but the losers who wantonly ignore the well-established fact that possessing and launching illegal fireworks are just that — illegal.

This column is the opinion of editor, Dennis Wyatt, and does not necessarily represent the opinions of The Bulletin or 209 Multimedia. He can be reached at dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com