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CONSENT CALENDAR
City of San Bernardino
Request for Council Action
Date: June 5, 2024
To: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
From: Rochelle Clayton, Acting City Manager
Jeannie Fortune, Interim Director of Finance and Management Services
Department: Finance & Management Services
Subject: 2024 Fireworks Regulatory Fee Rate (All Wards) Recommendation:
It is recommended that the Mayor and City Council of the City of San Bernardino, California, adopt Resolution No. 2024-131 of the Mayor and City Council of the City of San Bernardino, California, setting the 2024 Regulatory Fee Rate of 10% for the sale of "safe and sane" fireworks in the City of San Bernardino.
Executive Summary
The City of San Bernardino recommends that the Mayor and City Council adopt Resolution No. 2024-131, which sets the 2024 Regulatory Fee Rate at 10% for the sale of "safe and sane" fireworks. This fee is based on the gross sales of fireworks and aims to cover the regulatory costs associated with issuing permits and enforcing Municipal Code provisions. The City allows up to 35 licenses for nonprofit agencies to sell fireworks each year, with the regulatory fee split equally between licensees and suppliers. The anticipated cost of regulation and enforcement for 2024 is $211,916, while the estimated revenue from the 10% fee is $130,000. This action supports the City's strategic goal of improved operational and financial capacity and aligns with maintaining fiscal accountability.
Background
The City of San Bernardino is one (1) of nine (9) municipalities in the County of San Bernardino that allow for the sale, use, possession, and discharge of fireworks designated as “safe and sane.” Under the current provisions of the San Bernardino Municipal Code (SBMC), “safe and sane” fireworks are permitted in all areas south of the 210 Freeway in the City of San Bernardino (Exhibit A) from noon on July 1st through midnight on July 4th.
The City currently allows up to 35 licenses to nonprofit agencies for the sale of “safe 2 1
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and sane” fireworks each year. In 2023, twenty-eight (28) temporary use permits were issued for fireworks stands. A regulatory fee for the sale of “safe and sane” fireworks is established annually by the Mayor and City Council based on the gross sales of all fireworks sold in the City. The purpose of the regulatory fee is to raise funds to cover the reasonable regulatory costs of issuing the permits and enforcing the provisions of the Municipal Code, including extra personnel time for inspection and enforcement duties.
Discussion
The proposed amount of the regulatory fee is based on the licensee’s fireworks sales financial statements from the prior year. Each licensee is required to submit fireworks sales financial statements to the City Clerk’s Office no later than August 31 of every year. Half the regulatory fee is paid by the licensee, and the remaining half is paid by the fireworks supplier. In accordance with Section 8.60.095(B) of the Municipal Code, the regulatory fee rate shall not exceed more than ten (10) percent of the total gross sales of fireworks sold in the City during the prescribed timeframes (July 1st through July 4th).
Each year, prior to imposing a fee, staff prepares a study (Exhibit B) of the anticipated costs associated with the reasonable regulatory costs of issuing the permits and enforcing the provisions of the Municipal Code, including extra personnel time for inspection and enforcement duties. Exhibit B provides an assessment, itemized by department, of the costs associated with fireworks sales, including the staff time incurred by the Police Department, Finance Department for Business Registration, and other related costs. The Mayor and City Council must adopt this regulatory fee rate no later than 7:00 p.m. on July 1, as provided for in Section 8.60.095(B) of the Municipal Code.
2021-2025 Strategic Targets and Goals
Revenue from the 2023 Regulatory Fee Rate of 10% for the sale of fireworks aligns with Key Target No. 1: Improved Operational & Financial Capacity by implementing, maintaining, and updating a fiscal accountability plan.
Fiscal Impact
There is no fiscal impact with the adoption of this Resolution. Costs associated with enforcement and estimated revenues are included in the FY 2024/25 Operating Budget. The total estimated cost associated with regulating and enforcing the sale of "safe and sane" fireworks in the City this year (2024) is $211,916. Based on a 10% regulatory fee using the gross sales of all fireworks sold in the City in 2023 in accordance with Section 8.60.096(B) of the Municipal Code, the estimated revenue to be collected this year is $130,000.
Conclusion
It is recommended that the Mayor and City Council of the City of San Bernardino, California, adopt Resolution No. 2024-131 of the Mayor and City Council of the City of 2 1
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San Bernardino, California, setting the 2024 Regulatory Fee Rate of 10% for the sale of "safe and sane" fireworks in the City of San Bernardino.
Attachments
Attachment 1 Resolution No. 2024-131
Attachment 2 Resolution No. 2024-131; Exhibit A - Location Map Attachment 3 Resolution No. 2024-131; Exhibit B - Estimate of Expenditures for 2024
Ward:
All Wards
Synopsis of Previous Council Actions:
June 21, 2023 Mayor and City Council adopted Resolution No. 2023-087 setting the regulatory fee at 10%.
June 15, 2022 Mayor and City Council adopted Resolution No. 2022-128 setting the regulatory fee at 10%.
June 2, 2021 Mayor and City Council adopted Resolution No. 2021-135 setting the regulatory fee at 10%.
June 17, 2020 Mayor and City Council adopted Resolution No. 2020-130 setting the regulatory fee at 10%.
June 5, 2019 Mayor and City Council adopted Resolution No. 2019-86 setting the regulatory fee at 10%.