Kiff believes the salaries the city's lifeguard supervisors earn are appropriate given the competitive job market for top-tier lifeguards in Southern California, but would like to see the pension scaled back.
When we were negotiating, people were making such ridiculous amounts of money on the real estate market and we don't get those big jumps in salary that the private sector does," Jacobsen said. Lifeguarding here is different than any other place in the entire world." People get this idea that we're talking about 17-year-old kids in lifeguard towers making $200,000 and that's not correct," he said. "Unfortunately, there's a lot of disinformation out there. Many began as seasonal guards and worked their way into management roles and must stay certified as instructors in an array of advanced emergency, scuba and rescue techniques, said Brent Jacobsen, president of the Lifeguard Management Association, the lifeguards' union. The fulltime guards train more than 200 seasonal lifeguards who make between $16 and $22 an hour, run a junior lifeguard program that brings in $1 million a year and oversee safety on nearly seven miles of sand. Those whose salaries are in question point out that they hold management roles, have decades of service and are considered public safety employees under the fire department, the same as fire captains and battalion chiefs. Now, as the pressure mounts, they are balking at their portrayal as suntanned slackers lounging in beach towers as the surf rolls in. The swell of anger from beachgoers and budget-watchers alike has blindsided the lifeguards, who have for years enjoyed the prestige of their jobs in an ocean-centric town that banks on summer tourism. The ensuing debate over the merits of having lifeguards as well-paid as some CEOs has divided this wealthy coastal city, spawned a pro-lifeguard Facebook page and created headlines as far away as England ("Time for a Career Change? California's Baywatch lifeguards paid up to $210,000 per year!"). That's the kind of reaction Newport Beach's 13-member fulltime lifeguard crew has drawn this month, since the local newspaper editorialized about lifeguard salaries, benefits and overtime pay that in at least two instances top $200,000 (with $400 for sun protection) as the city struggles to rein in pension costs.
"It does kind of make me feel like, 'Gosh, maybe I should be a lifeguard.'" To think that these are lifeguards! That's more than some doctors make," said Toussaint, 55, as she sat by the beach with her son's therapy dog, Romeo. "When I first heard that I was amazed at how much they make.