As usual, it’s a sensationalized heading, and very light on facts.
From the article:
The lifeguards in question are part of a 13-person management team; by contrast, the towers are staffed by 200 or so seasonal guards who make about $20 an hour, give or take.
In both cities, overtime pay was a big factor, often reaching into the tens of thousands of dollars. [In other words, this is NOT base pay, and they don’t specify how their pay breaks down per hour, as usual. Makes it look more “shocking” that way. -CAR]
I noted that these full-time lifeguards aren’t staffing the towers, and Kiff replied that while that’s true, they must train their subordinates and must be capable of such rescues.
In addition, they have more than 200 seasonal lifeguards under their command. “That’s a lot of people to supervise,” Kiff said.
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While the compensation does seem to be excessive, these are *management* positions in public safety, they are NOT “lifeguards.” We also don’t know how the pay is broken down, so can’t really make a determination as to whether or not they are actually overpaid.
One thing that I’ll repeat (again): I’ve never agreed with the 3% pension formula for any public workers. That was excessive from the beginning, and I’ve never wavered on my stance there.
