Chico >>> The City Council looks to consider an explosive issue in the coming weeks, with a proposal to legalize state-approved fireworks in city limits.

Council Andrew Coolidge has asked for the discussion, which was approved for agendizing on a 4-2 vote this week, in hopes it will give nonprofits the ability to compensate through fundraising for loss in city financial support as well as to educate the community on how to safely use fireworks. It is expected to go before the council for initial consideration April 21.

“I’m not doing this because I’m a fireworks fanatics who just wants to legalize fireworks because I think they are great,” he said. “I want to because I know people are doing them already, they aren’t a lot of danger and it would raise a lot of money for nonprofits.”

But the issue will not be without controversy.

Councilor Ann Schwab has already vocalized some concern, asking if the proceeds will go to support the fire department to put out the fires it will have to respond to. She was one of the two dissenting votes, along with Randall Stone.

“It’s hard to understand why some people are just dead-set against it,” Coolidge said. “To me, it’s not a political argument at all. I think it’s assess the safety concerns and if it makes sense, let’s do it.”

He had thought of the idea during the election, and earlier this year he contacted Revell Communications, the public relations representative for American Promotional Events. The firm is the state’s leading wholesale distributor of state fire marshall-approved fireworks, providing fireworks to nearly 300 communities statewide under the TNT brand.

The distributor’s stated goal is to support nonprofits operating with smaller budgets as a result of decreased donations and government funding during a time of increased service demand.

The city of Chico has reduced its funding to community organizations drastically in the last two years, with general fund for community organizations and arts shrinking from the $164,734 funded in 2013-14 to $25,000 this fiscal year. Coolidge estimates fireworks sales could raise between $150,000 and $200,000 a year.

“We already have a problem and it’s not going to go away, so we might as well have our nonprofits making some money off of it,” he said. “And everything I have researched shows it decreases the use of (illegal fireworks).”

The sale of state-approved fireworks can also provide funding for law enforcement and fire protection services, through firework sale surcharges and administrative fines. The distributor argues that communities are safer when prohibitions end, and safe, approved fireworks are legal, and that the administrative fine process improves enforcement against illegal fireworks.

The distributor reports that since 1993, 48 communities and one county have reversed their prohibitions against state-approved fireworks sales and use. Many are cited in its promotional materials for effectiveness.

In May 2009, the Salinas City Council reversed a longtime ban on all fireworks and adopted a two-year pilot program to allow for the sale of fireworks by nonprofits in city limits. Despite the city’s notoriously high crime rate and the fire department’s initial opposition to the change, two years later the Salinas Fire Department recommended the city continue the yearly fundraising sale, The Californian reported at the time.

The Salinas-area newspaper also reported the fire chief told the City Council that it was an alternative to illegal and dangerous fireworks and that sales were a “cash cow” — generating more than $479,000 for schools and nonprofits in the area during the two-year period. The fireworks surcharge generated $40,000 and covered fireworks enforcement and staff time to administer the annual program.

Stockton has also reversed its band and reported strong success, as have Dixon, Lodi, Tracy, West Sacramento and Fresno, among other cities.

Coolidge wants to limit Chico’s ordinance to a set number of stands, with permits available by application to community and civic organizations, and restrict their use in the park and perhaps other area. He thinks it may be appropriate to increase penalties for illegal fireworks.

His ultimate goal is to increase community safety and support local nonprofits.

“I live in the avenues and I know every house around me on all three sides sets off fireworks,” he said. “They are obviously not buying them in Chico. They are supporting other nonprofits in Hamilton City or Oroville or Marysville or Red Bluff or wherever it may be.”

Those cities, as well as Gerber, Gridley , Yuba City, Corning and Colusa also have legalized fireworks. The Butte County board of supervisors passed a fireworks ban in 1986.

Fire Chief Shane Lauderdale said Chico fire is still compiling information to present to council on the issue. At this point, the goal is to present a report outlining the impacts of a fire ordinance change and the potential cost related to mitigation measures.

“What I will do is try to give a very fair and honest evaluation of what increased hazards will potentially come with a change in the ordinance and what the mitigating measures would be to be able to protect the community and what that would cost,” he said. “The bottom line is anything that will increase the risk to our community is something that would not fit in with the fire department’s mission.”

Illegal fireworks continue to be a problem in Chico and they are a significant hazard to people in the community, Lauderdale said.

“The difficulty is we just don’t have the law enforcement resources, either on the fire department side or the police department side, to be able to track down all the users of illegal fireworks and enforce the state laws,” he said.

Contact reporter Ashley Gebb at 896-7768.