Lifeguards, Flag System, 20/20

The bigger question is.....will a 16 year old earning $8.50/hr be willing (or brave enough!) to attempt to save a victim from the jaws of a shark? We're not talking your average swimming pool lifeguard duties here.

Now....if we could get a few David Hasselhoff-type lifeguards on the beach, that might be another story! :wub:

Now....if we could get a few David Hasselhoff-type lifeguards on the beach, that might be another story! :wub:

Even if you paid lifeguards annual salary of $30,000 each, where would they live?

Even if you paid lifeguards annual salary of $30,000 each, where would they live?

I was wondering the same thing SJ.

Even if you paid lifeguards annual salary of $30,000 each, where would they live?

It seems to me that it would be reasonable to have trained college kids working the beaches in the summer, but you'd have to have dorm-like facilities for them to stay in. I don't think the area has enough trained kids (who could drive in and out every day) to support the demand for lifeguards. There definitely would need to be a formal program with recruiting and housing. I'm not opposed to it at all. In fact I think it's a great idea. But putting such a program together is a challenge and will take some time to plan and execute.

There definitely would need to be a formal program with recruiting and housing. I'm not opposed to it at all. In fact I think it's a great idea. But putting such a program together is a challenge and will take some time to plan and execute.

Sandestin recently built dormitory/appartment housing for some of their employees.

Even if you paid lifeguards annual salary of $30,000 each, where would they live?

If it's David Hasselhoff, he's welcome to stay at our place! :laughing1

As has been asked earlier, how much should a lifeguard earn? Where are they supposed to come from? My guess is that we would need to tap the 16 ? 21 year old surfer crowd. This is appropriate, as they know our beach better than most people do.

The local surfer crowd is already pretty tapped out for those kinds of jobs. Foreign college kids already do a lot of the lifeguarding in Okaloosa and Escambia counties- seems like they're commonly from places like Poland, England, and former Yugoslavian and Soviet republics. And regardless of citizenship or nationality, everyone has to meet the same standards to get a lifeguarding job in those places.

Back to the $30K salary issue, bear in mind that's not too far from what a beginning Walton County deputy sheriff makes. Starting salary for a City of DeFuniak Springs police officer is $22K. :roll:

So, not only would it not make sense (in my mind, anyway) to pay them $30K, they most definitely don't have anywhere to live.

There has got to be an answer, but I don't know what it is.

30k! To sit on the beach and flirt with the opposite sex? Wow!!! If I was 21 with a lifeguard job I would probably party all night, show up to work hungover, complain about my hangover and recover all day- In the mean time make plans for the upcoming evening. 30k comes out to about 2k a month...Is that a lot for a college summer job? :idontno: I understand they are there to lives...but that would sound like a killer summer job to me.

As for where to live...I was able to snag an interesting apartment at Patrones the summer before it was torn down. :( That may have been the last affordable (and coolest!) place to live in Sowal.

Sandestin recently built dormitory/appartment housing for some of their employees.

Maybe Walton County will build dorms for their employees? :idontno:

Back to the $30K salary issue, bear in mind that's not too far from what a beginning Walton County deputy sheriff makes. Starting salary for a City of DeFuniak Springs police officer is $22K. :roll:

So, not only would it not make sense (in my mind, anyway) to pay them $30K, they most definitely don't have anywhere to live.

There has got to be an answer, but I don't know what it is.

Maybe we could hire all of the Deputies to be lifeguards and they could use their guns to shoot the sharks. Of course, we would not have any deputies then, and would be more like the US Virgin Islands, which are filled with pirates (Rednecks kicked out of FL.).

Many of the deputies would take you up on that in a heartbeat. Except, of course, when it's freezing.

And the dorms for county employees...I won't even go there. :floor:

Ok, I'm gonna just say it: Cops don't prevent crime or vehicle accidents, ski patrollers don't keep skiers from hitting trees and getting caught in avalanches, and lifeguards cannot prevent drownings or shark attacks. I know, I've been in both of the latter professions. We can put in lifeguards for a "feel-good" measure, but the bottom line is that we will still have victims of bad individual choices or pure bad luck. Families of drowning victims (and the press) are not more accepting of their tragedy because the beach was "protected by lifeguards."

So, when a lifeguard saves someone, they are not preventing a drowning?

So, when a lifeguard saves someone, they are not preventing a drowning?

I think what chrisv meant was that lifeguards can't prevent ALL drownings. People will still swim out too far, in too rough of conditions, or if they don't have sufficient swimming skills. I've seen many people in the water on red flag days with small children. You can't always protect people from themselves.
I don't know what I think about the lifeguard issue.. I think it could help prevent some drownings, but the cost could make it impossible.
Maybe they could compromise.. have more beach patrols with deputies trained in lifesaving skills.. and maybe those blue emergency phones every so often on the beach?

Walton County YTD Property Taxes = $92,932,924.45. Folks this is just property tax. Where is this money being spent? Not on lifeguards, not on roads and surely not for employees payroll. What are the general operating expenditures for Walton County and what percentage of these funds are being held in savings?

for what's it it worth.

the hutch

The state gets a large percentage of the property taxes because there is no state income tax. Walton County's property taxes do get used for schools, but the money goes into the state's general funds and then it is distributed to the counties per pupil. This is supposed to help equalize the funds given to rural vs. urban counties.

It is a huge amount of money that Walton County takes in, but we don't get to keep all of it. The county has been very far behind with appraisals because there is so much development and building. The state has told Walton County that they WILL get caught up this year because the state wants its share of the property taxes. This is why we'll all see a dramatic increase in property taxes this year.

It is a huge amount of money that Walton County takes in, but we don't get to keep all of it. The county has been very far behind with appraisals because there is so much development and building. The state has told Walton County that they WILL get caught up this year because the state wants its share of the property taxes. This is why we'll all see a dramatic increase in property taxes this year.

Figured taxes will go up sooner rather than later, but have they been reappraising this year, or did they do it last year? This year's taxes are based on the Jan. 1 values, and we'll find out Aug. 1 (I think) what they are. If they're reappraising this year, this will affect our taxes next year, right? :idontno: Just curious -- I want to be prepared! The wind policy bill was bad enough!

Does the county spend too much on advertising and not enough on taking care of its people and resources?