California Lifeguards make 100k
Newport Beach’s $100,000 Lifeguards Feel Pension Squeeze
California, where four ranking lifeguards earned more than the town’s $109,677 median household income in 2012, may partially disband its municipal ocean rescue to deal with rising pension costs.
The Orange County city of 87,000, where Zillow.com says the median home value is $1.5 million, is weighing bids from other governments and private companies for lifeguard services at Corona del Mar State Beach, which the municipality patrols.
Newport Beach’s oceanfront, including the state park, draws about 1.6 million visitors a year and averages 800 rescues annually, according to bid documents. With about 14 percent of Newport Beach’s general budget going toward employee pensions, municipal lifeguards may be a luxury the town can’t afford forever, City Manager Dave Kiff said by e-mail. The home of Pacific Investment Management Co. isn’t alone, said Michael Coleman, fiscal adviser to the League of California Cities.
“The escalating cost of pensions, especially public-safety pensions — of which lifeguards are part — is putting more pressure on cities,” Coleman said by telephone. “If this continues, we’re going to see more and more cities outsourcing these functions.”
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-15/california-beach-town-may-privatize-100-000-lifeguards.html