55D - RESO - FIREWORKS FINES - Laserfiche WebLink

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Mitre - Ramirez, Norma From: Huizar, Maria Sent: Thursday, May 05, 2016 11:42 AM To: eComment Subject: FW: Proposed tax on Fireworks Stands Categories: Correspondence Please include in correspondence when matter considered by the City Council. Thank you. From: Tim Rush [mailto:timrush @bhhscaprops.com] Sent: Thursday, May 5, 2016 11:41 AM To: Huizar, Maria <MHuizar @santa- ana.org>; Cavazos, David <DCavazos @santa- ana.org> Cc: jkwong @ocregister.com Subject: Proposed tax on Fireworks Stands Dear Mayor & City Council; The OC Register carried a story in the last several days about a proposed tax of $1354 per Fireworks stand under consideration by the City. This the story says is to offset some of the costs associated with public safety by the SAPD during the July 4`" holiday. As someone who has been at the forefront of leading the charge to abolish all fireworks in town this strikes me as most curious. Councilmember Benevides was quoted as saying that the fee should be absorbed by the manufactures not the individual non profits. Who really believes that this type of cost would ultimately not be borne by the end consumer /nonprofits ?? This is a cruel tool to exact money from non profits that without a doubt do a lot of good in town. However, it does nothing to benefit them or the citizens who are at greatest risk. Given the various reports related to public safety delivered by both the OC Fire Department and SAPD which said that their resources were completely outstripped and that they couldn't keep up with the calls for service. Is this tax really a solution? I think not. The 85 nonprofits who participate in this Santa Ana version of "Crystal Nacht" need to be assisted in finding new ways to raise money without putting the 350K folks who call Santa Ana home at peril and risk of both physical and property damage. The citizenry who participated in the numerous public safety committee meetings were all left scratching their heads as to the Council's choice to do nothing in the face of such overwhelming evidence of a clear danger. This proposal does nothing to stem the tide of what is a tidal wave of illegal fireworks being discharged in our city in the weeks before and after the official holiday. Your Police Chief and Fire Chief both told of how the legal fireworks do nothing but provide cover for the illegal. To continue to allow this is nothing but subsidizing and promoting criminal activity. The reality is that if the TRUE costs of this night of terror were calculated, police, fire, public works, suppression - public relations, etc. and a "tax" was divided between the 85 nonprofits we would easily discover that in fact we are in the red by a big number. So why not rethink this, and develop a plan to assist the nonprofits in developing new methods of fundraising that don't put the citizenry, neighborhoods and our city's public image at such risk ?? Thank you for your consideration. 55b -7