By Stephen Smoot
A few weeks after explosions of public sentiment against constant fireworks use in residential areas in and around Enterprise, Prosecuting Attorney Rachel Romano expressed opposition to the passage of any fireworks ordinance. Barring dropping the plan, she urges changes to its enforcement.
The draft of the ordinance as set prior to the July 2nd meeting of the Harrison County Commission set a number of limits on discharge and also a strict fine for any offense.
First, the draft ordinance sets limits on the date and time of discharge on all entities “not including any incorporated municipality.” Discharges can take place at set times on July 3, July 4, December 31, and January 1. Any other day of the year, they may only be used between 5 and 10 p.m.
Several residents of Enterprise reported discharges of fireworks at any possible hour of the night and day. Some claimed that it interfered with sleep on work and/or school nights. Others reported debilitating effects on combat veterans with post traumatic stress disorder and also pets.
Another limit the draft included lay in a 500 foot linear distance from the point of discharge and “the outer perimeter wall” of any residence or “facility where people might live, sleep, or rest.”
The draft includes definitions of each term, including the fireworks themselves. It also establishes violation as a misdemeanor offense with a mandatory $1,000 fine for each separate offense.”
Commissioner David Hinkle in a previous Commission meeting had raised concerns about the ability of Harrison County or municipal law enforcement to enforce the law, due to the likelihood that a deputy, trooper, or officer likely could not respond in time to catch a perpetrator in the act. He also shared that he found some of the discharges affected his dog as well.
In the last County Commission meeting, Prosecuting Attorney Rachel Romano rose during the public comment period on the draft ordinance. She opened with “I’m here in my personal capacity, not here as a County Prosecutor” and shared her opinion that “I do believe that the ordinance as currently written is a little unduly restrictive and could maybe be tapered back a little bit.”
She later stated that “I am not for it” but allowed that compromise positions could be taken and also noted that “I personally have not received complaints . . . in my capacity as a Prosecuting Attorney.”
She had two major objections. Romano first criticized the 500 foot barrier as “a defacto ban” since urban and suburban properties invariably lie within that set distance. Romano shared that she had not heard of damage from fireworks landing on property. The language of the ordinance that specifies places “where people . . . sleep” would seem to have noise mitigation, not property damage, as the primary reasoning.
Romano also referred to the $1,000 fine as “capricious” and hoped the language was “an oversight.”
Toward the end of the meeting, Commissioners Susan Thomas and Patsy Trecost, with Hinkle absent, approved a second reading of the ordinance for the July 16 agenda. Trecost suggested amending the ordinance fine to between $200 and $1,000 to give judicial and prosecuting authorities some latitude. County Administrator Laura Pysz-Laulis reminded those present that any fine would have $200 in court costs on top of it.
Commissioners did not seek to adjust the dates and times of discharge nor the 500 foot distance requirement.
