Wanted in Pittsburgh: Lifeguards willing to 'get a free tan' for $11-$15 per hour

The benefit of free sun rays doesn’t appear to be enough to lure experienced lifeguards into the pool of applicants for a summer job that pays as much as $15.76 per hour from the City of Pittsburgh.

City Parks and Recreation Director Ross Chapman told city council members Wednesday the listings for the lifeguard positions on the city’s employment portal received 3,400 views this year.

But only 90 people applied for the 80 jobs needed to open eight of Pittsburgh’s pools. Those 90 people who applied are just 2.6% of the people who viewed the job listing, Chapman said.

In 2018, a year without a coronavirus pandemic to contend with, a similar posting received 1,600 views and again 90 applicants, for a 5.6 % application rate.

Eight of the city’s 18 pools opened up this week. All pools were closed last year because of the coronavirus pandemic and the pools that are open are all the city has the staffing to open, Chapman said.

The pay rate for lifeguard in the city ranges from $11.09 to $15.76 per hour, depending upon their experience level, Chapman said.

RELATED: Pittsburgh struggles to staff its pools, can’t open all of them

City council members Deb Gross and Theresa Kail-Smith are trying to lure more people who are qualified or can be trained to do the job so more pools can reopen.

They made the proposal to transfer $380,000 from the Department of Public Works budget to the Parks and Recreation Department to increase wages to encourage more applicants. But in making the proposal, Gross acknowledged Wednesday the officials had opened a “can of worms” because although full-time city employees can make a minimum of $15 per hour, its part-time and seasonal employees were left out of the mix.

“We’re actually not paying a lot of our employees well enough,” Gross said during a Wednesday council committee meeting. “I think we’re long overdue for this conversation.”

No council members opposed talking about raising wages for all employees, but the pressing matter is getting enough staff in place to open more pools this summer, Kail-Smith said.

“We don’t have time for long, broad discussions,” she said.

She proposed, and council acquiesced to, holding off on the budget transfer proposal for a week to discuss the issue with the city’s foundations, universities, private pools and transit agencies to find ways to allow more of the city’s youth to access a pool.

“I just want to give our kids a safe place for the summer,” Kail-Smith said.

Others agreed.

“The goal here is to provide more options this summer,” Gross said. “People do need safe outdoor recreation.”

Council members are asking those interested in applying for a job as a lifeguard to apply here.

They’re also going to be meeting with other groups in the next week to see if they can get more city pools to reopen or otherwise provide residents with more access to a pool, Kail-Smith said.

Council is also working to develop a plan to improve maintenance of the city’s pools and increase wages for other employees who are making less than $15 per hour.

Going to a city pool was a part of each summer he spent at a child, Councilman Anthony Coghill said.

He also mused that being a lifeguard is a “great job.”

“You sit there, get a free tan,” Coghill said.