Seasonal Salaries too Low?

STONE HARBOR – Cape May County’s tourism spending continues to grow. County numbers reported for 2018 hit $6.6 billion.
Stone Harbor Borough Council heard reports Aug. 20 of record fire department and emergency medical services (EMS) calls for July 2019. A beach patrol report spoke of a more crowded shoreline than in recent years.
Growth in second homeownership and traditional tourism has placed burdens on municipal employees, both regular and seasonal.
Stone Harbor officials also heard about increasing difficulties in hiring and retaining employees, even in critical public safety roles.
Council member Raymond Parzych said, “This is impacting lifeguards, EMS, fire, police and public works.” Parzych added, “I hear about the difficulties in hiring and retaining all the time.”
Parzych suggested the formation of a group to examine the problem. “We need a plan to address the pay problems,” he said.
With his statement, Parzych focused on what many feel is the problem: municipal salaries, especially for highly competitive summer jobs, are seen as too low. 
A college student who can serve as a lifeguard may be able to earn more money elsewhere in the summer, tourist-centric economy, while avoiding the demands of an arduous training regimen.  
For some, the cost of housing during the summer also has to be factored into a decision to accept a lower-paying option.
The days when there were 10 applicants for every lifeguard position are over. Beach patrol officials struggle to keep as many beaches open as possible, paying bonuses to guards who will stay in the late weeks of the season.
Stone Harbor made another attempt to address the problem for 2019 when a resolution passed that increased the daily rate for lifeguards from $100 to $115 per day, as of Aug. 1. Those with 16 or more years of service had a 2% increase added.
Lifeguards were not the only employees discussed. “We pay EMS personnel a pittance,” Parzych said.
Administrator Jill Gougher promised a review of the issue during the upcoming 2020 budget process. She noted that the analysis of the problem takes on a different character when the jobs are part of negotiated contracts.
The problem is more than a Stone Harbor problem. For the last three years, Middle Township has been discussing and gradually raising municipal pay scales to keep employees. The township saw itself in the position of hiring individuals with little experience, paying for their training and early years of learning, to lose them to higher-paying options once they had gained experience.
At recent meetings in Cape May, Police Chief Anthony Marino has reported understaffing in the department, caused in part by what he termed “department hopping,” a phenomenon where new hires, as police officers, are trained by a department, which also provides them with their first years of on-the-street experience, to then lose them to other departments that can pay more or offer better advancement opportunities.
While the problem is seen in the hiring difficulties for seasonal positions, for many municipalities it is also apparent in the full-time employee ranks.
In Stone Harbor, much of the discussion was on seasonal jobs. As the peak 2019 season winds down, a solution may need to be in place in time for the hiring cycle for 2020.
To contact Vince Conti, email vconti@cmcherald.com.