DIXON, CA (MPG) - America's birthday was the subject of a post-operational briefing here.

The second annual city-hosted event in Hall Park included concerts, open swim and food trucks, gathering hundreds together for the celebration. Per City Council's request, Police Chief Robert Thompson and Fire Chief Todd McNeal gave just that on July 16 at the regularly scheduled council meeting.

"I think we come to the communal Mandela effect every year that it is the worst year for fireworks in Dixon," Thompson said while yearly figures were posted on the screen. "All we can give you is the numbers, which show you that it wasn't actually the worst year."

Far enough away from Covid to present "meaningful data," Thompson showed the entire Fourth of July weekend, July 1 through July 4. Calls for service decreased in the last three years. Total calls for service were 259 in 2022 compared to this year's 189. Officer-initiated calls were also down to 71 in 2022, compared to this year's 52.

After that, Thompson focused solely on July 4, noting the total number of calls from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m., which totaled 69. Disturbance calls not related to fireworks were the lowest this year, with only 41 compared to 71 in 2022 and 39 this year.

Patrol staffing comparisons between 2023 and 2024 show a decrease in police and community service officers, primarily for the Hall Park detail.

"It's a little bit down from where we were last year," Thompson said, noting the decrease was related to scheduling and staffing.

Thompson said drones will assist in 2025.

"If you recall, last year we had tried a drone pilot program," Thompson said. "It was effective but it's just that we did not have drone pilots available this year, so we were not able to replicate that program."

The only figure that did not decrease was response time. This year, the average response time was 13:03, compared to 10:57 in 2023. The average response time between 6 p.m. and midnight was 12:36 this year, compared to 12:15 in 2023.

Thompson said emergency call response time for emergency calls is "generally four to six minutes,” but not on July 4.

"When everyone is calling in at the same time, you can see the effect that it has to stretch out," Thompson said, adding that, unlike other jurisdictions, Dixon always responds. "It may take us a while to get there but we will stack them up and get to it."

Administrative citations were also down this year.

"No question about that and I will take responsibility for it," Thompson said. "It is an issue of ensuring we align with priorities."

That priority includes a firework ordinance that entails visually seeing fire spark a fuse.

"We have to see the person detonate the fireworks; it's not enough to turn the corner and have five people and a smoking shell," Thompson said.

Ending on a "personal note," the police chief said Dixon is one of the two cities in Solano County with extra firework displays.

"We continue to see that trend," Thompson said, compared to Oakland, Napa and West Sacramento.

Fireworks in Vacaville and Valeo are illegal. To make the officer's job easier on the holiday, definitive types of fireworks could be classified illegally. Assuring types of fireworks " are safe and sane," per the ordinance, is time-consuming, according to Chief Thompson.

Fire Chief McNeal kept it short, stating staffing consisted of nine personnel on duty, seven of which are typically scheduled. The average number of calls in 2023 was eight a day. On this Fourth of July, there were 19 calls, "12 of which were smoke or fire-related calls."