Last summer taught beach patrols throughout the Jersey Shore many lessons.
But perhaps the biggest one of all: Families will flock to the beach, even in a pandemic.
Thirty-three shore towns combined spent over $3 million more on lifeguard pay in 2020 compared to the previous year, according to an analysis of data collected by NJ Advance Media from nearly every Jersey Shore town.
That’s no surprise to Jim Bennett, city manager in Brigantine in Atlantic County.
“I can say — without hyperbole at all — that last year was the busiest summer that I have ever seen in my 52-plus years of being on this earth,” Bennett said.
Brigantine spent an additional $67,175 on overall lifeguard pay from 2019 to 2020, according to the data.
Shore towns attributed increases in lifeguard expenses to a longer beach season that extended past Labor Day, a need to have additional staff on because of heavier foot traffic, COVID safety expenditures and hourly wage hikes — necessary in some cases to draw more applicants.
With Memorial Day weekend underway, beaches are gearing up for another busy year, hoping — with vaccines more widely available and having last year as a blueprint — that they’ll be better positioned to handle demand.
Bennett’s father, Bill — who served as Brigantine’s lifeguard chief in the 1960s and 1970s — offered one piece of advice to his son last summer.
“‘You have to open up more beaches! There’s 35,000 people here. Twenty isn’t enough,’” Bennett remembers his father saying last year.
Jim Bennett, previously the city’s police chief, said his team took heed — adding more lifeguard stations and spacing seating areas out to ensure social distancing was possible for both staff and visitors.
“I don’t think there was any sort of (world event) like COVID to cause that kind of increase during my father’s tenure,” Bennett said. “Not like what we saw ... and we expect to be in the same boat this year.”
NJ Advance Media used the Open Public Records Act to ask 45 municipalities along the Atlantic Ocean how much they spent on lifeguard pay over the last two years.
Of the data gathered, 33 beaches saw increases in overall lifeguard pay (including nine that saw a six-figure increase), seven beaches saw decreases, three municipalities did not respond to the requests and two beaches were privately owned and thus the towns could not provide the information.
Starting lifeguard pay throughout the towns ranged from $10 to $12.50, according to data gathered.
Several local officials pointed to the state’s mandatory wage increase as reason for their overall hike. In New Jersey, per a 2019 bill signed by Gov. Phil Murphy, employees and seasonal employees in the state will see their hourly rate go up by $1 until reaching $15 an hour in 2024.
But last year Avalon went a step further, increasing their hourly wage from $12.50 to $19.38.
“The pay was raised before COVID ... and long story short, our town wanted to take care of the lifeguards. Our mayor has always been very big on public safety (and we) were having a hard time getting guards in the summer of 2019. So, they raised salaries and had no trouble getting guards in 2020,” said Matt Wolf, the beach patrol chief in Avalon in Cape May County.
Wolf is heading into his first season as the borough’s beach patrol chief after being promoted from captain and taking over for his father, Murray.
The pay hike resulted in over 130 applicants signing up to try out for 15 available spots a month before Avalon’s lifeguard tryouts. It also factored into Avalon’s overall lifeguard pay increasing by more than $625,000 in 2020 — despite hiring 19 fewer lifeguards than the previous summer.
“I don’t think you can put a price on public safety,” said Wolf, noting that Avalon has not reported a drowning in at least 50 years.
Nearby Stone Harbor, which saw an overall lifeguard pay increase by nearly $450,000 last year, also upped its hourly pay from $12.50 in 2019 to $19.38 in 2020.
Sandy Bosacco, captain of the Stone Harbor beach patrol, said attracting new lifeguards wasn’t an issue two decades ago. But over the years applications have dwindled.
Another increase in hourly pay is not expected in either Stone Harbor or Avalon in the near future, both lifeguard officials said.
Long Branch in Monmouth County experienced a hefty 49% increase in spending on lifeguard pay overall last year: from $590,740 in 2019 to $877,901 in 2020.
The city’s chief financial officer, Michael Martin, attributed the more than $287,161 in additional spending to several factors, including higher hourly wages (from $9.50 an hour to $11.75), a greater number of guards (142 hired, up from 132) and an increase in the number of hours that beaches were open.
“I do not expect those types of increases this year over last year primarily because the city cannot handle too much more of an increase in capacity,” Martin said.
A returning lifeguard for the Beach Haven Beach Patrol completes the swim test in the bay, Saturday, May 22, 2021. All lifeguards here must be able to swim 500 meters in under 10 minutes to pass.Lori M. Nichols | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
A longer beach season also played a role in overall lifeguard pay totals going up last summer.
Several beach patrol chiefs said final decisions have not been made about this year’s schedule and whether it will once again extend to the end of September. However, many officials said they expect families will be eager to head outdoors after self-quarantining and having their travel restricted due to the pandemic.
Ocean City’s budget last year reflected a more than $58,000 increase in lifeguard pay.
Frank Donato, director of financial management for Ocean City, said COVID not only impacted the number of visitors that came into town but also those who stuck around.
“Since a lot of businesses and workplaces were shut down (throughout the state,) as we transitioned from summer into the fall, shore towns — particularly Ocean City — noticed a lot of people were continuing to use second homes,” Donato said.
“A lot of people were renting for the fall into the winter and choosing to do their remote work from these areas as opposed to their primary residence,” he said.
Bennett, Brigantine’s city manager, saw a similar pattern 24 miles north.
“A friend of mine’s family stayed here until November because everybody was virtual,” Bennett said. “They all worked from home and the kids went to school from home.”
Realtors in the area told him calls about renting at the shore have been steady, Bennett said.
Both Bennett and Donato said traffic was consistent throughout the fall last year and they would not be surprised to see a similar trend this year.
“From what I hear, our beach badge sales are at an all-time high already,” said Belmar chief lifeguard Harry Harsin.
In Belmar, overall lifeguard pay last year went up by more than $146,781— from about $602,370 in 2019 to $749,151 in 2020.
Belmar usually kicks off its beach season on or around Memorial Day weekend.
Harsin said the Monmouth County township did not launch into its beach season last year with a shortened schedule like it usually does (starting with just weekends in May and adding weekdays in mid-June). Instead — based on the number of beachgoers it was getting — Belmar opened seven days a week in May.
“Last year we also stayed on until the end of September because of the huge crowds and the fact kids weren’t really going back to school,” said Harsin. “We felt an obligation … to stay open longer.”
Matthew Kelm, Longport beach patrol chief, said the Atlantic County borough will follow a similar rubric it did last year: going from about 10 lifeguard stands to four for the three weeks after Labor Day.
“The water was still warm in September and because of the pandemic people really wanted to be out and about. It’ll likely be (the same) this year so we’re looking to remain open on the odd chance people still want to head out,” Kelm said.
Longport’s overall lifeguard pay went up by more than $89,000 from the summer of 2019 to 2020.
The reasons being, he said, were multi-pronged: the fact it was busier, hourly paying going up a dollar to $12.50, a longer beach season and COVID safety expenses — like having to purchase personal protective equipment and compensate lifeguards for the 15 minutes they came in to get temperature checks before their shift began.
Kelm, who is also a teacher, said with a lot of the population vaccinated and fewer unknowns about COVID, his staff is eager to get back to some normalcy while on patrol.
Tony Cavalier, North Wildwood beach patrol chief, agreed.
North Wildwood saw a more than $36,000 increase from 2019 to 2020 when it came to overall lifeguard pay, town records indicated. Cavalier also linked the higher total to remaining open until the third week of September and a slight wage increase.
“We saw big crowds. Some of the cities don’t get the crowds we get at the Wildwoods,” Cavalier said.
Cavalier expects with the re-opening of businesses, the North Wildwood boardwalk’s much needed bustling energy will return.
“People walking around with masks, staying away from other people. It’s not fun for anybody,” said Cavalier. “We need to get back to how things were.”
Reporters Josh Axelrod and Steve Strunsky contributed to this report.
Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.
Steven Rodas may be reached at srodas@njadvancemedia.com.
"last" - Google News
May 30, 2021 at 05:33PM
https://ift.tt/3c0Z36f
Lifeguards cost 33 Jersey Shore towns $3M more last year. This summer may be just as expensive. - NJ.com
"last" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2rbmsh7
https://ift.tt/2Wq6qvt
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Lifeguards cost 33 Jersey Shore towns $3M more last year. This summer may be just as expensive. - NJ.com"
Post a Comment