Impact
WARD: All Wards
COMMITTEE: Parks and Recreation
$ IMPACT: $0
Title
Approval to upgrade one Part-time Lifeguard position to Full time Status to become effective January 1, 2016.
Body
ISSUE:
This request is to upgrade one Part-time Lifeguard position in the Parks and Recreation Programs Division to Full time Head Lifeguard status and for this change to become effective January 1, 2016.
BACKGROUND:
The creation of this upgrade will make all lifeguards at the Wolfe Center Pool full time positions going forward. To accomplish this, the elimination of the other 1 part-time guard position working at the Wolfe Pool facility are necessary.
Initially, the intent of having a combination of part and full time guard staff was to provide the most number of personnel for maximum flexibility in scheduling. However, recruitment of committed, readily scheduled part-time staff has been problematic for the last several years. Part-time staff has been almost exclusively students. Changes to school schedules (particularly for college level staff) are difficult to accommodate without negatively impacting operations. There have been dependable, long-term part-time guard staff but these have been the exception to the rule since the facility opened. Additionally, the number of interested, certified guard staff in the Atlanta area has decreased making recruitment in many locations and jurisdictions difficult.
For these reasons, the upgrade of an existing part-timer to a full time Head Lifeguard will plug the regular gaps in the Wolfe Pool operating schedule and thereby better safeguard the public using the facility.
The estimated remaining budget for FY 16 is $20,746. This staffing change is estimated to cost $19,206 therefore having no financial impact on the current budget.
RECOMMENDATION/REQUESTED ACTION:
Staff recommends approval to upgrade one Part-time Lifeguard position to Full time status to become effective January 1, 2016.