http://orangepunch.ocregister.com/2011/0...00k/44783/

Quote:High pay and benefits for lifeguards in Newport Beach is the latest example of frustrating levels of compensation for public employees. More than half the city’s full-time lifeguards are paid a salary of over $100,000 and all but one of them collect more than $100,000 in total compensation including benefits.

When thinking about career options with high salaries, lifeguarding is probably not one of the first jobs to come to mind. But it apparently should. In one of Orange County’s most desirable beach destinations, Newport Beach, lifeguards are compensated all too well; especially compared with the county annual median household income of $71,735.

It might be time for a career change.

According to a city report on lifeguard pay for the calendar year 2010, of the 14 full-time lifeguards, 13 collected more than $120,000 in total compensation; one lifeguard collected $98,160.65. More than half the lifeguards collected more than $150,000 for 2010 with the two highest-paid collecting $211,451 and $203,481 in total compensation respectively. Even excluding benefits like health care and pension, more than half the lifeguards receive a total salary, including overtime pay, exceeding $100,000. And they also receive an annual allowance of $400 for “Sun Protection.” Many work four days a week, 10 hours a day.

Lifeguarding in Newport Beach is a pretty good gig, if you can get it.

There is no denying that lifeguards protect swimmers and play a vital safety role in protecting numerous beachgoers every year. In 2010, the total number of rescues by Newport Beach lifeguards was 2,190. Even so, these salaries seem too generous, and the compensation levels don’t appear fiscally sane.

Currently, Newport Beach has 13 full-time active lifeguards and hires about 210 seasonal and part-time “tower” guards, Newport Beach City Manager David Kiff told us. Lifeguards are organized as part of the fire department. The Lifeguard Management Association represents the 13 full-time, salaried employees in collective bargaining with the city whereas the Association of Newport Beach Ocean Lifeguards represents the part-time, seasonal lifeguards.

See our letters to the editor: “Lifeguards are riding a profitable wave”

In a phone conversation, Brent Jacobsen, president of the Lifeguard Management Association, defended the lifeguard pay in Newport Beach: “We have negotiated very fair and very reasonable salaries in conjunction with comparable positions and other cities up and down the coast.” “Lifeguard salaries here are well within the norm of other city employees.” And therein is the problem: Local public worker pay has become all too generous and out of line with private sector equivalents.

On face, the compensation packages for these guards are staggering. But take into consideration the retirement benefits being paid to currently retired lifeguards and lifeguards who will retire at these pay levels in the future and the problem is further compounded. Lifeguards are able to retire with 90 percent of their salary, after only 30 years of work at as early as the age of 50.

A YouTube video created by Americans for Prosperity-California, an education advocacy organization concerned with limited government, lower taxation, and free-market principles, outlined how in Newport Beach a “recently retired lifeguard, age 51, receives a government retirement of over $108,000 per year for the rest of his life.” The video also notes that “He will make well over $3 million in retirement if he lives to age 80!”

The Newport Beach City Council – as well as other beach cities – ought to take a hard look at reforming the pay scale and compensation for lifeguards as well as the way in which the department is organized. This is a reasonable starting point for applying some fiscal sanity to public employee compensation.

Stunning.

If you ask rabid pro-union supporters they would say this is richly deserved!

(05-18-2011 09:31 PM)converrl Wrote:  If you ask rabid pro-union supporters they would say this is richly deserved!

Tis true that saving hundreds of lives with your bare hands over your career shouldn't be rewarded nearly as richly as, say, a mortgage broker or a lawyer (the real saviors). I'd much prefer to have our lifeguards (aka public safety officers/EMTs) making closer to $10/hour. That way they are as dedicated to their work as the men and women who serve honorably at my local Taco Bell. And - especially important - the taxpayer doesn't have to suffer (well, except for those that drown or are mugged on the beach).

(05-19-2011 02:37 AM)AZBCAT Wrote:  

(05-18-2011 09:31 PM)converrl Wrote:  If you ask rabid pro-union supporters they would say this is richly deserved!

Tis true that saving hundreds of lives with your bare hands over your career shouldn't be rewarded nearly as richly as, say, a mortgage broker or a lawyer (the real saviors). I'd much prefer to have our lifeguards (aka public safety officers/EMTs) making closer to $10/hour. That way they are as dedicated to their work as the men and women who serve honorably at my local Taco Bell. And - especially important - the taxpayer doesn't have to suffer (well, except for those that drown or are mugged on the beach).

The cost of labor is EXACTLY the same as the cost of a cheese coney. The price is derived by balancing supply and demand. There are PLENTY of people who would take the job of a lifeguard -- far more than the number of openings. That is why lifeguards are not paid very much -- except when they are on the public dole.

There was an excellent article in The Economist last month about why California is suffering severe budgetary problems.

The central theme of the article was that California is suffering from TOO MUCH democracy, not too little. Apparently the ability of the state's citizens to put propositions on the ballot to both limit taxes and require spending have limited the flexibility of the state's government to deal with its financial issues.

I think I still have the magazine; I'll have to dig it up. Good reading.

Edited to add:

This isn't the article to which I was referring, but this is also a good read and mentions the democracy issue:

http://www.economist.com/node/13649050

(05-19-2011 02:37 AM)AZBCAT Wrote:  

(05-18-2011 09:31 PM)converrl Wrote:  If you ask rabid pro-union supporters they would say this is richly deserved!

Tis true that saving hundreds of lives with your bare hands over your career shouldn't be rewarded nearly as richly as, say, a mortgage broker or a lawyer (the real saviors). I'd much prefer to have our lifeguards (aka public safety officers/EMTs) making closer to $10/hour. That way they are as dedicated to their work as the men and women who serve honorably at my local Taco Bell. And - especially important - the taxpayer doesn't have to suffer (well, except for those that drown or are mugged on the beach).

Sorry AZ that is just chock full of foolishness.

The world is full of people (including mortgage brokers and lawyers) who started off their working careers doing low level, low pay positions and doing them VERY WELL. I am one of them.

Saying low pay justifies a lack of dedication to quality of work? Man that is so broadly offensive, I am compelled to pull that apart but am having a tough time deciding where to begin. I could go on here, but it hardly seems worth it.


Of course you could find highly effective lifeguards who would be dedicated to the position for a fraction of what these lifeguards were paid. I am certain you can find examples of this on beaches all over the world. Or you could attach it to the public $ teat, create barriers to entry and stifle competition for the position by unionizing it and watch the pay and benefits drift upwards until they attract this kind of attention.

If they advertised these positions at the local CA colleges at $15 an hour they would get a massive line of applicants. Have a few people (who aren't employed by any branch of government) screen and interview the applicants and you could fill all the positions by the end of the day with a raft of extremely bright and physically capable people who will one day be lawyers and finance pros who will talk about how great it was to be saving lives as a beach lifeguard during their college years at $15 an hour.

(05-19-2011 08:42 AM)Eastside_J Wrote:  

(05-19-2011 02:37 AM)AZBCAT Wrote:  

(05-18-2011 09:31 PM)converrl Wrote:  If you ask rabid pro-union supporters they would say this is richly deserved!

Tis true that saving hundreds of lives with your bare hands over your career shouldn't be rewarded nearly as richly as, say, a mortgage broker or a lawyer (the real saviors). I'd much prefer to have our lifeguards (aka public safety officers/EMTs) making closer to $10/hour. That way they are as dedicated to their work as the men and women who serve honorably at my local Taco Bell. And - especially important - the taxpayer doesn't have to suffer (well, except for those that drown or are mugged on the beach).

Sorry AZ that is just chock full of foolishness.

The world is full of people (including mortgage brokers and lawyers) who started off their working careers doing low level, low pay positions and doing them VERY WELL. I am one of them.

Saying low pay justifies a lack of dedication to quality of work? Man that is so broadly offensive, I am compelled to pull that apart but am having a tough time deciding where to begin. I could go on here, but it hardly seems worth it.


Of course you could find highly effective lifeguards who would be dedicated to the position for a fraction of what these lifeguards were paid. I am certain you can find examples of this on beaches all over the world. Or you could attach it to the public $ teat, create barriers to entry and stifle competition for the position by unionizing it and watch the pay and benefits drift upwards until they attract this kind of attention.

If they advertised these positions at the local CA colleges at $15 an hour they would get a massive line of applicants. Have a few people (who aren't employed by any branch of government) screen and interview the applicants and you could fill all the positions by the end of the day with a raft of extremely bright and physically capable people who will one day be lawyers and finance pros who will talk about how great it was to be saving lives as a beach lifeguard during their college years at $15 an hour.

I think you (and others on here) are confusing California lifeguards with your standard whistle twirler in the Midwest - which is why this type of pay seems so outrageous to people who don't hang out on California beaches.

My goodness. What's an average police officer or teacher making in Newport Beach these days? What does their pension plan look like? More or less?

(05-19-2011 03:21 PM)rath v2.0 Wrote:  My goodness. What's an average police officer or teacher making in Newport Beach these days? What does their pension plan look like? More or less?

Newport Beach firefighters (which the lifeguard crew is technically part of) make a bit more than lifeguards and all agreed to concessions last year (including increasing payments into their pensions) to help balance the NB budget.

And have you been to Newport Beach? Cost of living is a bit different than Anderson Township.

Now, I personally do think these guys/gals seem a bit overpaid, but why the selective outrage for salaries of public safety officers, teachers, etc? These are hard working Americans who are making a positive difference in our daily lives.

Quote:for the calendar year 2010, of the 14 full-time lifeguards, 13 collected more than $120,000 in total compensation; one lifeguard collected $98,160.65. More than half the lifeguards collected more than $150,000 for 2010 with the two highest-paid collecting $211,451 and $203,481 in total compensation respectively

Assist to Lexis Nexis:

Average salary in Newport Unified School District for its 972 teachers is $58,639.

Starting pay for a police officer in Newport Beach CA is $60,569.60. Maximum pay for max years of service for an officer is $103,604.80

Jay Johnson, the Chief of Police in Newport Beach Ca is paid less than the top lifeguards.

Makes perfect sense.

(05-19-2011 03:13 PM)AZBCAT Wrote:  

(05-19-2011 08:42 AM)Eastside_J Wrote:  

(05-19-2011 02:37 AM)AZBCAT Wrote:  

(05-18-2011 09:31 PM)converrl Wrote:  If you ask rabid pro-union supporters they would say this is richly deserved!

Tis true that saving hundreds of lives with your bare hands over your career shouldn't be rewarded nearly as richly as, say, a mortgage broker or a lawyer (the real saviors). I'd much prefer to have our lifeguards (aka public safety officers/EMTs) making closer to $10/hour. That way they are as dedicated to their work as the men and women who serve honorably at my local Taco Bell. And - especially important - the taxpayer doesn't have to suffer (well, except for those that drown or are mugged on the beach).

Sorry AZ that is just chock full of foolishness.

The world is full of people (including mortgage brokers and lawyers) who started off their working careers doing low level, low pay positions and doing them VERY WELL. I am one of them.

Saying low pay justifies a lack of dedication to quality of work? Man that is so broadly offensive, I am compelled to pull that apart but am having a tough time deciding where to begin. I could go on here, but it hardly seems worth it.


Of course you could find highly effective lifeguards who would be dedicated to the position for a fraction of what these lifeguards were paid. I am certain you can find examples of this on beaches all over the world. Or you could attach it to the public $ teat, create barriers to entry and stifle competition for the position by unionizing it and watch the pay and benefits drift upwards until they attract this kind of attention.

If they advertised these positions at the local CA colleges at $15 an hour they would get a massive line of applicants. Have a few people (who aren't employed by any branch of government) screen and interview the applicants and you could fill all the positions by the end of the day with a raft of extremely bright and physically capable people who will one day be lawyers and finance pros who will talk about how great it was to be saving lives as a beach lifeguard during their college years at $15 an hour.

I think you (and others on here) are confusing California lifeguards with your standard whistle twirler in the Midwest - which is why this type of pay seems so outrageous to people who don't hang out on California beaches.

Yes I am sure it is incredibly difficult.

(05-17-2011 08:10 PM)SuperFlyBCat Wrote:  Stunning.

I have to agree. Funny and unbelievable. How does this happen? That has to be the best gig EVER.