Lifeguards in blue city cash in six-figure salaries on taxpayers’ dime

This is not just a splash-making waves in Los Angeles at the fourth place of July-the sky-high salary of the Lifegards is also changing the head.

As A new report By the fiscal Watchdog Group Openthabook, at least one La County Lifeguard raked over half a million dollars last year. Meanwhile, 34 lifeguards were brought to $ 300,000 or more during 2024, while 134 base pay, overtime and other benefits were brought to at least $ 200,000.

Los Angeles County is used to soak taxpayers, but for some people it may be “unstable” to hear how much lifeguard is being paid, while the city still faces a shortage of firefighters and police, and struggles to extinguish the wildfires or to refund the violent crime for pre–panthemic levels.

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Hart told Fox News Digital, “Lifeguards who risk their lives at risk are well compensated, but paying them more than $ 500,000 may be unstable for taxpayers who are drowning in debt.” “Once again, Los Angeles – a city that is struggling to extinguish and rob the fire – is a pioneer in the gorgeous salary that needs to be addressed.”

LA County’s 134 highest-paying lifeguard earned $ 70.8 million last year, according to the Openthebook-an average of more than $ 500,000 in total compensation. In addition to base and overtime pay, the dollar amount also includes “other” salary, time payment, health insurance payment, pension contribution, deferred contribution, long -term disability and life insurance payment.

The highest paid lifestyle brought in the base pay $ 523,351, “other salary,” and benefits in 2024.

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La County’s Lifeguard Division is recognized as one of the country’s largest professional lifeguard services. According to Openthebooks, in addition to high-devotional lifeguards, in whose duties can lead to major maritime rescue and emergency reactions, low-paying lifeguards have a sleep that brings their total number to about 1,500 in the Los Angeles-field.

Openthebooks, which tracks the useless expenses in the government, reported in 2021 that the top-paying lifeguards in Los Angeles County earned up to $ 510,283-about half of which were on overtime. That year, 98 lifeguards in La County created at least $ 200,000.

In 2024, overtime Pay played a major role in increasing the earnings of Lifeguard in Los Angeles.

Beyond Los Angeles, excessive overtime pay has provoked debate in other cities – especially those major budgets are struggling with lack of budget.

In Seattle, police officers were to be disciplined to repeatedly violate the city’s overtime policy. Per Seattle TimesA patrol officer made more than the mayor, police chief or any employee of any other city in 2019, after recurring over $ 414,000.

The overtime abuse has also been an issue in other major cities like New York and Chicago. In Chicago, where the city faces a lack of increasing budget, a record obtained by a local news outlet found that during the first six months of 2024, the city had already spent 30% more, allocated for police overtime salary. In New York, a former department head for NYPD is currently investigating for alleged overtime misuse and other crimes.

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Republican’s “Big Beautiful Bill” has been asked to help in bringing overtime workers home and also to help in the provision of “no tax on tips”. Initially, the House version of the bill had no limit to how much exemption could be given to overtime salary, but the Senate version of the bill capted it at $ 12,500.

Fox News reached Los Angeles County Public Information Office for Digital Comment, but did not listen back to the press time.