PRESCOTT — The Prescott City Council and Police Department have affirmed that for the Fourth of July Weekend, the city will enforce stricter citations on firework complainants after the increase in complaints within the city limits over the last two years.

Prescott Chief of Police Eric Michaels announced in a Facebook post June 2 that anyone who is setting off fireworks in an illegal manner will be issued a $760 citation on first offense. If anyone commits a second offense in Prescott city limits after receiving the citation, they may be subject to verbal warnings, municipal citations, or an arrest with criminal charges.

“The Chief of Police has stated there will be fines for people who are using fireworks which are illegal in Wisconsin. The fine for fireworks is $760 and there have been no permits issued to anyone for fireworks,” said Prescott City Administrator Jayne Brand.

“This year will be staffed heavier than last year,” said Michaels in regards to Prescott PD’s preparation for Fourth of July weekend. “We’ve also made it known there will be no warnings given out this year. For the past couple years, we have made the public aware that unfortunately fireworks are illegal in the city of Prescott. There has been plenty of notice regarding this ordinance.” FIREWORKS

FROM PAGE 1

In 2020, there were 22 complaints made to Prescott PD on July 4. Only two officers were on duty to handle fireworks complaints as well as other complaints that came into the Prescott PD dispatch. Michaels confirmed there were a total of 68 calls made to the Prescott PD dispatch on July 4 last year with the majority related to fireworks.

“I believe there were more complaints last year due to the fact most, if not all, fireworks displays around the area were cancelled. Families and friends decided to have their own shows,” said Michaels.

Citations will be issued to individuals who fall under the known complaint. Known complainants are those individuals who call into dispatch or the Prescott Police Department and file a formal complaint to which they are willing to write a statement to and sign their name. Names are needed with complaints this year for testimony purposes in court, in case someone needs to be subpoenaed.

If people call in firework complaints anonymously, officers will be unlikely to hand out citations to those who are being complained about.

There were firework permits requests made to the Prescott City Council at its last meeting. But the council voted against issuing a permit as there is liability that falls back onto the city council if a permit is issued and the person/ people who receive the permit decide to act disorderly and are issued a citation. This is why the city council has decided not to issue any permits for any Prescott citizens who have requested them so far.

“Also understand, your name is not confidential if you file a complaint as a known complainant. Those individuals you are calling on, will get your name. I only mention this because individuals have gotten upset at us for their names being released,” said Michaels.

For any fireworks launched off the St. Croix and Mississippi rivers, law enforcement is not under the jurisdiction of the Prescott Police Department. The Pierce County Sheriffs Department handles enforcement on the Wisconsin side, while Dakota and Washington counties’ sheriff departments do so on the Minnesota side.

Side notes from the June 14 City Council meeting:

The city council went into close session to discuss the hiring of the new city administrator and setting their salary. The action which was taken for the administrator was to follow up as was discussed in closed session. The clerk wage was set at $33.03 per hour.

The council also discussed the financial contributions being made to one of the two tanker trucks used by the Prescott Fire Department. The tanker truck in discussion is used more often in the surrounding rural areas of Prescott and with fires in the villages of Oak Grove and Clifton.

Currently Prescott pays 58 percent of the budget for this tanker truck, although it is rarely, if ever, used within the Prescott City limits. The council did not take action on this matter, but posed this question above all else: Why should Prescott taxpayers pay the majority costs of a tanker truck that is not being used in Prescott?

There will be a park clean up at Magee Park on June 26 to help clear the new trails that are being planned to be installed in the park.