More than half of Charleston's City Council members are sponsoring a new bill that would restrict the use of fireworks inside city limits to just four days out of the year.
Bill 7713 proposes creating a new section in city code relating to fireworks, as well as amendments to the existing noise ordinance as it relates to fireworks.
The bill is in response to a law passed by the West Virginia Legislature during its regular 2016 Regular Session, which legalized the sale and use of consumer-grade fireworks, such as Roman candles and bottle rockets.
In the following months, the city has received numerous complaints from frustrated residents. Some had concerns about safety, while others were dealing with neighbors who continued setting off fireworks late at night long after the Fourth of July.
Under the new bill, the use of fireworks in the city only would be permitted between the hours of 11 a.m. and 11 p.m. on Memorial Day, Independence Day and Labor Day.
They also would be allowed between 11 a.m. on New Year's Eve and 1 a.m. on New Year's Day.
A person may, however, ask permission from the Chief of Police to use fireworks for a special occasion on other days, which may be approved on a case-by-case basis.
Any events held at Laidley Field or the Appalachian Power Park would not be subject to the bill, nor would events such as Live on the Levee, FestivALL and the Rod Run and Doo Wop.
Mayor Danny Jones cautioned Council on Monday after the bill was introduced that its enforcement "is going to be very difficult...I think it's important we all know that."
A person convicted on violating the proposed fireworks ordinance could be fined up to $500 per violation.
If the fireworks bill passes, those who violate it also can face fines for breaking the noise ordinance, which is $100 for the first offense and increases by $100 for each subsequent offense.
The bill will be taken up at City Council's Rules and Ordinances Committee when it meets Sept. 27 in City Hall.
City Attorney Paul Ellis said the ordinance mostly is meant to be educational.
"It will probably take a little time to get used to, as these things do when the state changes the law without really any discussion, and then leave it to the cities to figure it out," he said.
Council also voted to make a series of budget amendments to the city's general budget as well as the Civic Center and Parking System's budgets.
The changes come following a compensation study, during which an independent consultant made recommendations to the city on how its departments could be run more efficiently.
City Manager David Molgaard said the city had put aside roughly $1.9 million to be allocated to its respective departments pending the outcome of the compensation study.
Among those changes are an across-the-board 2.5 percent increase for all police and fire department personnel.
The fire department has also made strides in retaining its paramedics through the initiative, Chief Scott Shaffer said Monday.
Shaffer said about 20 paramedics have left the department in the last few years.
"We were looking for solutions on how to keep them here and train our own people," he said.
The department now offers online EMT and paramedic training through Pierpont Community and Technical College.
Shaffer said the online program trains employees "in a quarter of the time and the cost that it used to cost us to send a guy to school."
Paramedics and advanced EMTs will also receive an additional $2,400 and $1,200, respectively, over their rank and service wage rates.
Also on Monday, Council voted to:
n Approve an updated set of personnel rules and administrative policies for city employees, which haven't been revamped since 1998.
n Authorize the receipt of $602,300 in grant funds from the state Governor's Highway Safety Program to assist in funding the four-county Metro Valley Highway Safety Program. The money provides for partial coordinator salary reimbursement, overtime funds, conducting a bike safety campaign, purchasing equipment, Click it or Ticket and similar programs.
n Approve an agreement with Daktronics in the amount of $216,615 to buy and install two exterior LED message display signs at the Charleston Civic Center, on Lee and Quarrier streets. No other bids were received for the project.
n Approve an emergency agreement with K & N Contracting, Inc. in the amount of $155,000 to remediate the slip between the Cato soccer fields and Edgewood Drive.
n Approve a proposal submitted by Cummins Crosspoint, LLC. in the amount of $28,849 to repair the engine in fire apparatus No. 453 for the Charleston Fire Department.
Reach Elaina Sauber at elaina.sauber@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-3051 or follow @ElainaSauber on Twitter.