County approves 3-year bargaining agreement with beach safety union

Posted On: December 14, 2021

Volusia County and the union representing the county’s beach safety specialists, senior lifeguards and lifeguard supervisors have reached agreement on a new, three-year contract. On Tuesday, the Volusia County Council approved an agreement with the International Union of Police Associations, AFL-CIO that includes pay raises and a new retention bonus program for covered employees.

Both sides of the bargaining table seemed equally pleased with the new agreement, which employees covered by the union ratified on a vote of 40-3. The Council approved a similar agreement with the Corrections union last month.

“A lot of hard work has gone into reaching this agreement,” Beach Safety Director Andy Ethridge told the council. “In a time when many law enforcement agencies across the nation are struggling to fill their ranks, I’m happy to stand here today and tell you that it looks like going into the summer season, all of our fulltime positions will be fully staffed. I think this contract is going to go a long way in helping me maintain that status.”

For his part, the union president, Ben Whetstine, who’s a sergeant with the county’s Beach Safety Ocean Rescue, called the agreement a fair contract.

“I feel this contract is a solid foundation for us and our future replacements to build upon,” Whetstine said. “I’m proud to be part of an agency that has such a profound impact on the residents and visitors of Volusia County.”

The new agreement with the beach safety specialists, senior lifeguards and lifeguard supervisors covers the last fiscal year, the current fiscal year and the next fiscal year, replacing a previous agreement that expired in September 2020. The new agreement calls for the covered employees to receive a 3% raise for the last fiscal year and a 4% raise, or $1 an hour, whichever is greater, for the current fiscal year. The raises will increase the minimum hourly pay to $16.65 for beach safety specialists, $21.10 for senior lifeguards and $25.51 lifeguard supervisors.

In fiscal year 2022-23, the last year of the agreement, officers will receive either a 3% raise or whatever pay raise is approved for the rest of the county employees, whichever is greater. This will be dependent, however, on the County Council not adopting a rollback millage rate. If the council does adopt a rollback rate for fiscal year 2022-23, the county and the union will re-negotiate the pay raise issue.

The contract also includes a one-time, $2,000 retention bonus for covered employees in exchange for signing a two-year employment commitment to stay in their job.

Tuesday’s County Council vote to approve the contract was unanimous.

“I’m just really pleased to see this agreement come together, but to also know the heart and commitment of the staff to get it done and to be there for your community,” said Councilwoman Barb Girtman.

The new agreement expires on Sept. 30, 2023.