Lifeguards may get raise

Palm Beach County lifeguards who protect beaches from Boca Raton to Tequesta could see their pay increase under an agreement set for approval Tuesday.

Lifeguards with emergency medical technician certification would get an 11.5 percent bump in their wages, according to a signed agreement obtained by the Sun Sentinel.

The Palm Beach County Commission would need to approve the agreement for it to take effect. Representatives of the county and the lifeguards have signed the document.

Eric Call, director of Palm Beach County Parks and Recreation, declined comment on the agreement because it has not been finalized, as did Larry Russell, a lifeguard who led the push for higher wages.

Russell and others took the issue to county commissioners this past year, arguing their wages and benefits were not keeping pace with neighboring communities.

Palm Beach County Ocean Rescue, which has a

staff of about 90, patrols beaches at county parks that stretch from Boca Raton to Tequesta in northern Palm Beach County.

The starting pay for a lifeguards with EMT certification would rise from $15.73 an hour (about $32,700 a year) to about $17.54 an hour (about $36,480 a year). The maximum pay would increase from $25.79 an hour (about $53,600 a year) to $28.76 an hour (about $59,800).

That change would make Palm Beach County more competitive with its neighbors when recruiting new lifeguards.

Martin County recently moved up its starting pay for lifeguards to $18.03. Fort Lauderdale starts its lifeguards at $17.60.

But the measure would also increase costs for the county by an estimated $783,702 during the first full year of implementation, and the expense would “increase annually,” according to a county analysis.

While many lifeguards have EMT certification, those who don’t will get a 4 percent bump in pay. Permanent lifeguards without EMT certification will have three years to obtain the certification. If they don’t, they could be laid off, according to the agreement.

The county also agreed to support the lifeguards’ application to the state for what’s known as “special-risk status” for retirement benefits.

Law enforcement officers, firefighters, emergency medical technicians, corrections officers and other government employees in dangerous occupations are eligible to retire at a younger age and receive a boost to their pensions from the Florida Retirement System because they are granted special-risk status.

But the state doesn’t consider lifeguards to be in a special-risk occupation, even though many have been certified as emergency medical technicians.

Some agencies, though, have been able to obtain the status for lifeguards who perform EMT duties.