Lifeguard Celia Ray, of Butler, watches over swimmers at Alameda Waterpark in 2021. Pool hours had to be limited because of a lack of lifeguards. County commissioners approved a pay boost for lifeguards hoping to improve staffing. Butler Eagle File Photo

Lifeguards at the Alameda Waterpark are going to see a pay boost as the county parks director seeks to solve a staffing shortage.

All lifeguards for the county are set to make $12.50 per hour this upcoming summer, with lead lifeguards making $14 per hour, after the Butler County Salary Board on Wednesday approved raises for both classes of water workers.

Prior to the change, all lifeguards started at $10 an hour.

“We’re back to the same challenge this year as last year,” said Leslie Osche, county commissioners chairwoman.

Lance Welliver, the county’s director of parks and recreation, said the pool needs 15 lifeguards at minimum to open the waterpark to full capacity. Should the county not hire 15 lifeguards, Welliver said they would need to start restricting capacity.

“It does make it difficult, when you close sections, because we’re basically just roping it off and, as we know, people don’t always listen,” he said.

Keeping all sections open with fewer lifeguards, according to Welliver, also is not a possibility.

“It’s a safety issue,” he said. “If we have minimal guards and say, ‘swim at your own risk,’ liability comes back on us.”

The increase in lifeguard rates is not unique to the county, as many municipalities in Butler and southwestern Pennsylvania have increased wages to as high as $16 per hour, Welliver said.

“There are still discussions that they’re going to raise their rates, even at this point,” he added.

County controller Benjamin Holland said these issues are omnipresent.

“We’re in an economic environment where teenagers have bargaining power,” Holland said.

While raising wages wasn’t the county’s first move, it was necessary, according to Welliver, who said Butler County has tried to work with universities, school districts and employment agencies but were rebuffed due to the low wage offer.

“We’re in a tough situation,” Welliver said. “Right now, we don’t have half of what we need, to be quite honest.”

Osche said this likely will be the county’s first go-around at reviewing lifeguard wages. While wages may need to increase in the future to keep up with employment, Osche said, the need for lifeguards must be balanced with the affordability of going to the pool.

“I think that we are going to have to, every year, go back and look at this,” she said.