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Council narrows police chiefauthority for ceremonial firearm discharges in ordinance amendment
Summary
The council adopted an ordinance amending the city's code to place the police chief's authority to authorize ceremonial firearm discharges in a specific subsection and moved related items from the archery section into the firearms subsection.
The Monona City Council adopted an ordinance amending section 33-5-3 of the Monona Code of Ordinances to specify the police chief's authority to authorize certain ceremonial firearm discharges.
Council members discussed a revised draft that moved the sentence granting exceptions by the chief into a specific firearms subsection that addresses ceremonial discharges. Police and staff said the change was intended to match practice and to narrow the chief's authorization to an explicitly defined item rather than leave a broad, general authorization in place.
Police Chief (unnamed) described the history prompting the change: an organizer asked parks staff for permission to discharge ceremonial firearms at a burial site near a memorial and staff determined that, as written, the code would prohibit the discharge. The chief said similar ceremonial discharges have occurred previously in Monona at a local funeral home (with prior notice to police and the cemetery) and at the start of a Memorial Day parade. The chief said the ordinance change would allow ceremonial discharges in narrowly defined circumstances while keeping the activity lawful.
City attorney/staff member Neil said the redraft "ties it down to" the specific ceremonial authorization the chief was working on and avoids giving the chief unchecked authority. The council called the roll; Alders DeCula, Cugel, Rademacher and Wood were recorded as voting "aye" and the ordinance passed.
The ordinance was listed on the agenda as Ordinance 7-25-7-91 amending section 33-5-3 of the Monona Code of Ordinances (firearm discharges). Staff and the council did not add further amendments at the meeting.
