After Record-Low 2023 Staffing, O.C.B.P. Bounces Back This Summer
Last summer the Ocean City Beach Patrol had the fewest number of stands ever on the beach in its history. OCBP Capt. Butch Arbin says the problem had been that the town’s pay was not competitive enough which led to a lifeguard shortage.
During “Labor Day weekend last year we had 34 stands on the beach,” he pointed out. “We had over 400 rescues. There were drownings in Delaware, in New York, in New Jersey, in Virginia, in North Carolina. We didn’t have any but [OC had] 400 rescues with only 34 stands on the beach. Two of our people were taken away by ambulance for exhaustion. It was ridiculous,” he added.
“We were lucky” and that’s what he told town officials. “I said we should be safe by design, not by luck. Last year, we were safe by luck and that’s not good.” After he met last August with the city manager and emergency services director, he says the mayor and city council came through with more support for the OCBP.
Now that the town pays lifeguards $20 per hour and $30 an hour for overtime, this season the staffing has improved significantly. He anticipates having all 90 stands staffed through Labor Day. He had 173 employees in 2023 and now has 215 this season.
The town now also offers a $500 signing bonus, and every guard who returns as a surf rescue technician (SRT) gets $500. Other incentives include an additional $140 toward travel plus $1 an hour extra after a certain date. Anybody who works past Labor Day will receive a $250 bonus. Ocean City also offers a housing stipend and sponsors a program where the city pays rent for some guards who require a large initial deposit. Then that rent payment the city made is deducted from the employee’s pay throughout the summer.
“So right now,” Capt. Arbin points out, “we have the best pay and incentive package on all of Delmarva.”
Part of the problem, he says, has been that fewer of the 18- to 22-year-olds who most beach patrols hire are less physically fit these days with schools cutting back on physical education programs. Kids are more interested in other distractions such as social media rather than physical activities. So the number of candidates who can pass the OCBP physical tests has decreased. “If you’re going to fish in a pond with everybody else [all the other beach patrols], you get the best bait and now we have the best bait,” Capt. Arbin says.
Ocean City guards who are not American college students are frequently teachers, career firefighters and foreign students from Canada.
The reason he has hired so many Canadians is because they can drive to York, Pennsylvania, where OCBP holds a test, take the test, and drive back to Canada. He hopes to continue to recruit more foreign students noting that the Europeans can try out for the patrol while in town this summer and the city will provide all necessary training and certifications next season. The town even pays $20 an hour during the eight-day training academy. They will be testing on August 10. Details are on the OCBP website.
