photo by: Josie Heimsoth/Journal-World

Douglas County commissioners meet on Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026.

Douglas County commissioners said they would be interested in exploring changes to local fireworks sales dates to ensure the period includes a weekend – which vendors said could help boost sales.

Currently, Douglas County’s regulations allow firework sales for just four days — from July 1 through July 4. These are also the dates where fireworks are allowed to be discharged in unincorporated parts of the county.

But last year, the Kansas Legislature approved a bill extending the selling season for fireworks during the Independence Day holiday, as the Journal-World reported. The change expanded the state-authorized seasonal fireworks sales period from June 27 through July 5 to June 20 through July 7.

That law sparked an interest for Commissioner Erica Anderson, and she wanted county staff to explore the idea of extending the local selling season and potentially receive additional sales tax revenue.

During public comment on Wednesday, a few firework vendors expressed a concern about some years not including a weekend in the period of July 1 through July 4, which can result in fewer sales.

Commissioner Karen Willey suggested it may be a good idea to vote on the specific firework sales dates each year to make sure a weekend is included in those sale dates.

However, Willey said she wasn’t necessarily supportive of extending the firework sale dates, adding that many people may not be supportive of the change.

Commissioner Gene Dorsey said he was supportive of extending the sale dates to be more competitive with the surrounding counties, however, he wasn’t in favor of adding additional discharge dates.

Willey and some of the firework vendors said if the county did not extend the discharge dates with the sale dates, it may be confusing for customers.

Commissioner Patrick Kelly said he would be interested in further exploring the sale dates including a weekend, but he wants to be mindful of county resources.

“I want to be really respectful and recognize the impacts that a larger discharge window and a longer sales window would have,” Kelly said.

County staff reviewed the firework regulations in eight neighboring counties and found that most of them have not changed their regulations following the bill’s passing. However, most of them also have selling seasons significantly longer than what is allowed in Douglas County.

As the Journal-World reported, while extending firework sales could result in an increase in sales tax revenue, some emergency responders said the change would require increased personnel and operating and maintenance costs.

County commissioners did not vote on any changes to the sale and discharge dates for fireworks on Wednesday. Based on the feedback from commissioners, county staff will begin the process of initiating a text amendment.

IN OTHER BUSINESS, COMMISSIONERS:

• Deferred the consideration of a five-year contract with Axon Enterprise Inc. for the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office to maintain and upgrade its law enforcement cameras, recording systems, software, cloud storage and TASER devices. The contract would run from January 2027 through December 2031, with annual payments of $321,493 for a total cost of $1.61 million.

• Waived the purchasing policy and authorized the county administrator to renew a one-year Microsoft Licensing agreement in the amount of $178,568. Instead of entering into a three-year contract, the county’s IT staff chose to continue with an annual contract to ensure Douglas County received the most competitive pricing.

• Authorized the county administrator to enter into contract negotiations with Lockton Companies for employee benefits broker and consulting services.