Mayor Officially Begins Process Of Giving Ocean Safety Its Own Department
Officials had been debating for weeks between two procedural options.
After years of lifeguards pushing for their own department, Mayor Rick Blangiardi began the process to officially give it to them by July 2025.
Currently, Ocean Safety falls under the Department of Emergency Services as a division on par with the city鈥檚 EMS ambulance fleet. Proponents of the switch say that the differences between these two divisions in areas like expertise and equipment warrants splitting them.
They say that each would be best served as its own standalone department to be managed by someone with experience rising through the ranks as either a lifeguard or a paramedic.
In 2023, the mayor called for a task force during his State of the City address to study the issue for a year and report back .
One option was that voters could amend the city charter during November鈥檚 general election to give Ocean Safety its own department, a move that would also allow for the creation of a volunteer commission to oversee it.
The other option was that the mayor could start the process, avoiding the risk of voters deciding against the new department. The mayor however does not have the power to create a commission.
Blangiardi decided on the second option, according to .
The memo included a draft resolution to initiate the new department. The next step is for the City Council to consider that resolution, which it could reject with a two-thirds vote within the next 60 days. Absent a rejection, the new department will automatically be approved, meaning that the mayor can 鈥渢ake concrete budgetary, human resources, and administrative steps in order to have the department ready to go by the start of the 2026 Fiscal Year.鈥
Council member Matt Weyer introduced a separate resolution Wednesday that would allow voters to decide on the narrow question of .
