Clark County Commission wants limit to July 4 fireworks use

Clark County Commissioner Lawrence Weekly is making a plea to Independence Day revelers: limit fireworks use to the Fourth of July.

Weekly, along with Commissioners Chris Giunchigliani and Marilyn Kirkpatrick, used Tuesday’s commission meeting to spread awareness about a voluntary cease-and-desist on residents launching fireworks that will start at 12 a.m. July 5.

Explosions from illegal fireworks can be mistaken for gunshots, cause fires and send neighborhood pets on the run, Weekly said. July 4 is on a Tuesday this year, he noted, so many people will have work and school the next morning.

“When it gets to be one, two in the morning, it’s too much,” Weekly said. “It sounds like cannons.”

Giunchigliani said she’d like to ban the use of personal fireworks in the county. She and Weekly are meeting fire department and law enforcement officials to discuss setting stricter regulations by next year.

“A voluntary curfew is fine for getting people educated for this time around, but I think we need to tighten our ordinance up, have penalties in the ire and figure out how Metro and (the) fire department could better enforce it,” she said.

Union contracts

County commissioners also approved several new contracts with labor unions on Tuesday, guaranteeing raises for represented employees.

Employees represented by Service Employees International Union Local 1107, the Clark County District Attorney Investigators Association and the Clark County Prosecutors Association will receive a 2 percent cost of living adjustment this summer. Those raises are estimated to cost the county some $9.6 million over the next fiscal year, which begins in July.

Commissioners also voted to give nonunionized, nonmanagement employees a 2 percent pay increase, estimated to cost $1.5 million over the next fiscal year.

Contact Michael Scott Davidson at sdavidson@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3861. Follow @davidsonlvrj on Twitter.