Hermosa Balks at County Plan to Hike Costs for Lifeguards

Angry Hermosa Beach officials said this week they have no plans to begin paying the county for lifeguard service and beach cleanup, setting up a confrontation between the city and the county Department of Beaches and Harbors.

County officials, facing a $2.8-million budget shortfall next year, have begun demanding bigger contributions from coastal cities for lifeguard service and beach maintenance. Hermosa Beach has never paid directly for those services, but it is being asked to contribute roughly $600,000 next year.

The City Council decided Tuesday night to fight the county’s recent demands by sending a letter to Supervisor Deane Dana objecting to the request. Council members also urged residents to send letters of protest to the county.

“I am outraged that the county of Los Angeles is thinking about charging the city of Hermosa Beach anything,” said Mayor Kathleen Midstokke. “I don’t want to pay them a penny.”

The council rejected a suggestion to set up a subcommittee to negotiate with the county. Such a move, council members said, would pave the way for negotiations the city has no desire to participate in and would prevent the matter from being handled in public by the council.

County officials said they will continue to negotiate with Hermosa Beach staff members to come to a fair agreement with the city.

“The beaches are both a regional resource and a benefit to the cities,” said Penny Van Bogaert, director of management services for county beaches. “Cities should share the costs because they are benefiting.”

Hermosa Beach is not the first city to take such a stand.

When the city of Palos Verdes Estates refused to enter into negotiations over beach costs, county officials ended lifeguard service along the city’s tiny stretch of beach at Malaga Cove, although lifeguards say they will still respond to emergencies there.

The city of Torrance has refused to negotiate with county beach officials unless they agree to give the city credit for the costs of providing city police and paramedic services for the county-run Torrance Courthouse.

In Rancho Palos Verdes, city officials agreed to pay for lifeguard service, but a tight budget forced them to drastically cut staffing at Abalone Cove. The city’s contract, totaling $35,288, eliminates all lifeguarding from Oct. 1 to April 30 and reduces staffing from two lifeguards to one during the summer.

The county says requests for more compensation are not coming out of the blue. The county has been gradually requiring cities to contribute more for beach operations over the years, Bogaert said.

During the last round of negotiations in Hermosa Beach, for instance, the city agreed to a mutual indemnity agreement that relieved the county of liability for many kinds of beach accidents. The city also agreed during those 1987 talks to take over maintenance of the pier and The Strand and take responsibility for major repairs required at public restrooms.

Acting City Manager Steve Wisniewski said the city has bargaining chips if the county continues to demand payment.

He said the city allowed the county to build its lifeguard headquarters at the Hermosa Beach pier in the 1960s and could begin charging commercial rental fees for the real estate. The city also provides free downtown parking to lifeguards, he said, a service that could be withdrawn.

“We’ll be throwing those things on the table,” Wisniewski said.