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Lifeguards try to stay afloat in budget crunchBy SAM MILLERThe Huntington Beach WaveIn the fall, when cold winds kick up at Huntington City Beach,'it means goosebumps for the 130 part-time lifeguards who patrol the beaches. Long pants are not included in the uniform.“I work up to a 12-hour shift, and it gets cold out there,” said Troy Rulmyr, 22, who represents the city lifeguards' association. VA wet towel doesn't help any. There's a lot of skinny guys coming out of the towers blue.”Breakaway pants, which run about $30 a pair, are one of the requests the lifeguards will submit to the bud-get-crunching city Aug. 1. Other requests include long-sleeved rash guards to protect against the sun, and a3 percent pay raise to match the rise in the cost of living.Unfortunately for the guards, their legs might be left unprotected from the winds, while the program faces a potential hiring freeze next summer that could leave some lifeguard towers empty.The city must look everywhere - even the shores - to cut $3.5 million from its operating budget for the next fiscal year. No part-time lifeguards will be laid off, Community Services Director Ron Hagan said, but Marine Safety will likely face budget cuts.'‘There may be hiring freezes and early retirement options,” he said. “There might be lifeguards towers and things like that we won’t be able to get replaced on schedule. We might have to cut some of our hours fortraining.”That's bad news for the mostly young recurrent lifeguards, who are negotiating with the city after the beach saw a third straight year without a drowning. Thepart-timers start at $12 an hour. Los Angeles County's art-time guards start at 18.04. (The Marine Safety Officers Association, which represents Huntington CityBeach's 14 full-time officers, recently agreed to a separate contract with the city.)“We're sympathetic to the city; we understand their position. We don't want people seeing us as lifeguards who are greedy, greedy, greedy,” Rulmyr said. “We're not. We just think we’re worth a lot more.”If the city is forced to impose a hiring freeze, it will likely be the junior guardsthat feel the effect. Upwards of 20 lifeguards are typically hired each summer, most of whom come from the 1100-guard junior program. In addition, the city typically loses about 10 guards each year. Less part-time manpower would mean greater responsibility for the junior guards.“We finally have enough lifeguards so we don't have high schoolers out there,” said Dave Simcox, who has been the junior program coordinator for nearly 30 years. “We wouldn't want to give that up.”Fortunately, said Lifeguard Chief Steve Seim, the guards will be able to withstand a hiring freeze, for now.“We always have more lifeguards than we have hours for, and we have a huge pool of reserves who must work 80 hours a year to retain theirstatus,” he said. “We have some leeway.”Beachgoers hope so. A full staff, said some, is a must for a beach that drew more than 7 million visitors last year.“I feel confident in the water, but tourism is a big industry in Huntington Beach,” said John Egan of Pomona. “People from the Midwest don’t know about things like riptides.” Darrell Bomgaars, who grew up surfing at Huntington City Beach, agreed.“I’ve been rescued by Huntington Beach lifeguards, or else I wouldn’t be here today,” he said. “One rescue a year is worth every penny spent on the program, ever. Especially when it was me.” Contact Miller at sam-milIer@ocregister.com or (714) 445-6692.
Newspaper Details
Huntington Beach Wave
Huntington Beach, California, US
Thu, Jul 11, 2002
Page 4
Full Page
Clipped by
Mike M.
USA 12 Apr 2022
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