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Oshkosh officials seek clearer state fireworks rules, local remedies for noise and safety
Summary
City officials asked state legislators to clarify fireworks statutes and consider legislative fixes after vendors' retail permits and low fee structures limited local control; law-enforcement officials said enforcement capacity is limited for year-round, dispersed fireworks use.
City and state officials discussed fireworks regulation May 19 and asked legislators to consider clarifying state statutes to help cities limit consumer use that causes noise, animal stress and public-safety concerns.
Rebecca Grill and other city leaders described a long legislative history around fireworks and said some statutory language intended for commercial displays has been used to authorize broad retail possession. Grill summarized legislative counsel's view that clarifying language to separate commercial display rules from consumer fireworks would be "low hanging fruit."
City participants explained that Wisconsin currently charges about a $100 retailer licensing fee and a small per-purchase fee at point of sale. "It's a hundred dollar fee for the retailer to have the license to sell them," said an official involved in the discussion, adding that stores collect a small fee at checkout.
Local law-enforcement and public-safety leaders said enforcing prohibitions on consumer fireworks is difficult in practice. One official told legislators: "Frankly, law enforcement, whether it's Oshkosh or anywhere, does not have the resources to ... enforce fireworks ordinances saying you can't fire them off in the city," citing the volume and dispersed timing of calls during holidays and year-round use.
City leaders discussed possible near-term actions: ask adjacent towns to ensure permit language clarifies that possession or use is not permitted within Oshkosh city limits; consider a single designated location for permitted displays; and draft clarifying statutory language to distinguish loud or commercial pyrotechnics from lower-impact items.
Legislators said staff could draft multiple proposal versions and that local officials and chiefs should review them. The meeting did not produce final legislative language, but participants requested further work between council staff, the police and legislative offices to craft specific bill text or study language.
