State Treasurer John Perdue’s office is preparing to distribute the first fiscal quarter of fees derived from higher-powered fireworks.

A total of 428 volunteer fire departments across the state will each be getting a coincidental $428 from the initial proceeds, with presumably more to follow. The money is known in code as the “fireworks safety fee.”

The individual payments represent $183,000 or 25 percent of the $741,000 generated. The other 75 percent goes to the Veterans Facility Support Fund, which in this round of distributions is $550,000.   

Fireworks revenue came in at $134,000 in the month of July and $606,000 in August. The collection figures run a month behind, explaining the large August total based on sales in July. Those who buy the fireworks generated the revenue by paying a 12 percent surcharge in addition to the standard six percent sales tax.

Plans for the veterans’ fund primarily call for construction of a new veterans’ medical facility in Beckley and maintenance of another in Clarksburg. VFDs are free to use the funds for firefighting-related expenses. All distributions are made every three months, but are a month behind because of the first three months of the fiscal year skew the schedule.

Budget forecasts, of which the Treasurer’s Office is not part of, called for the new taxes to bring in $2.7 million, which would amount to about $675,000 a quarter. This quarter exceeds that amount, clearly due to the July 4 holiday.

The new statute took effect June 1, making it legal to purchase more powerful, higher-flying holiday visuals. The law now permits sky rockets and bottle rockets, missile-type rockets, roman candles and aerial shell kits, among other pyrotechnics.