Beach cities, Brevard County are at odds on lifeguard funding in new budget

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. - A funding fallout in Brevard County could mean fewer lifeguards at local beaches.

The county says beach cities need to start paying for beach safety, but cities say they can’t pay what the county is asking for. 

It’s been an ongoing issue for months as city and county managers have tried to come to a consensus. 

At the county’s budget workshop on Thursday, it’s apparent Melbourne Beach, Indialantic and Cocoa Beach haven’t been able to reach a mutual agreement on funding. 

City managers say, the people who use the beaches are mostly tourists, and the burden shouldn’t fall on their taxpayers. 

"All of the cities universally said no. In fact, some of the cities said what little money they’re contributing, they didn’t want to contribute anymore," said District 3 Commissioner John Tobia. 

No money could mean no lifeguards in Cocoa Beach, Melbourne beach and Indialantic moving forward. 

"When you have municipalities that are charging for parking and wanting a free ride on lifeguards, I just don’t think they’re prioritizing spending in the right areas," Tobia added. 

Tobia’s been spearheading the change when he realized the county had been footing 100% of lifeguard fees for years, even in city limits. He wanted to see more of a cost-share approach, asking beach cities to pay 50%of the cost for lifeguards and the county would pay the other half. 

"Their proposal is, we have to pay 50%, and that would be over $230,000 a year," said Michael Casey who’s the town manager for Indialantic. "The money’s not there. Otherwise, it will affect taxpayers in Indialantic."

Cocoa Beach also says their taxpayers shouldn’t have to pay more for guarded beaches. 

"One of the alternatives here if they want to play that type of strategy would be that we have no coverage of lifeguards on the beaches but then stop advertising that the beaches are safe and there’s lifeguards on the beach," said Wayne Carragino who’s the city manager for Cocoa Beach. 

Both city managers say their budgets are set when it comes to public safety and beach park maintenance. 

They can’t come up with what the county is asking for. Tobia argues, the cities don’t have to find more money but should instead use what revenue they already make from parking at the beaches.

"I don’t think the money needs to be found. These cities have a combined total of more than $4 million in parking revenue," the commissioner added. 

City managers say, even if they were to raise parking fees, the money wouldn’t come close to what is needed to make up the money to fund lifeguards. 

"They shouldn’t be telling us what to do with our parking revenue. You know, the TDC should be kicking in on this," Carragino concluded. 

Moving forward, both beach city managers say they’re frustrated with how the county has been advertising Brevard beaches on billboards across the country. They say, if more people are coming to the beaches, then the money to pay for guards should come from those tourist taxes.

Any changes to lifeguard services would start in October when the new budget starts.