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Yarmouth recreation director seeks higher seasonal wages and a revolving account to stabilize programs
Summary
Recreation Director Amy told the finance committee that staffing shortages and rising seasonal wages are forcing program-fee increases and urged authorization for a revolving account to roll program revenues across fiscal years and maintain affordable programming.
Amy, the town's Recreation Director, told the Finance Committee that recreation programs enrolled over 2,000 community members in the past year, doubled camp attendance to roughly 200 children per week and restarted a basketball league with about 250 participants. She said the department faces a severe seasonal staffing shortage, especially for lifeguards, and is requesting an increase in seasonal wage lines; she cited an emergency $1.50 lifeguard increase last summer and the department's proposal to add another $0.50 for FY23 to remain competitive.
Why it matters: Amy said recruiting is difficult because private employers can pay more, and that lifeguard shortages have forced municipalities in the region to reduce lifeguard coverage in some years. She argued that a revolving account for recreation would allow the department to carry program receipts forward, smooth fees and pay for small capital and maintenance needs without repeated capital-article requests.
Proposals and trade-offs: Amy listed a roughly $100,000 increase in the seasonal salary line driven primarily by lifeguard wage changes and asked the committee to consider a revolving-account policy for recreation receipts. Committee members questioned whether beach-sticker or short-term rental revenues could be dedicated to lifeguards or DPW, and suggested exploring regional or county approaches for training and staffing lifeguards.
Next steps: The committee will consider Amy's request as it completes departmental budget reviews and will ask staff to evaluate the revolving-account proposal and potential revenue reassignments.
(Quotes in this article are taken from remarks by Amy, Recreation Director, during the June 16, 2021 finance committee meeting.)
