Localities to Pay More than $1 Million
Brevard County commissioners have proposed a plan that would require Cocoa Beach, Indialantic, and Melbourne Beach to pay for 50% of the cost of lifeguards stationed at their beaches, in locations where there are adjacent city-maintained parks. The plan would be effective with the 2024-25 budget year that begins Oct. 1, 2024. Under the plan, the three municipalities would pay a total of just over $1 million for their share of lifeguard costs, which is nearly seven times what they currently pay. The affected sites would be Cocoa Beach Pier, Coconuts/Minutemen Causeway, Shepard Park and Tulip Avenue in Cocoa Beach; the Boardwalk in Indialantic; and Ocean Avenue in Melbourne Beach.
Unanimous Decision
The County Commission unanimously approved this plan, proposed by Commissioner John Tobia. The county would pick up the other 50% of the cost of lifeguards at these sites ― 30% from the county’s general fund through property taxes, plus 20% from the county’s 5% tourist development tax on hotel rooms, vacation rentals and other short-term rentals.
Negotiations to Begin
Commissioners directed County Manager Frank Abbate and County Attorney Morris Richardson to begin negotiating with the three municipalities and report back to the County Commission in three to six months. Tobia said these communities could use revenue generated from municipal parking near the beaches to pay for their costs of lifeguards.
Cost to Cocoa Beach Will Be More than $700,000
Under Tobia’s proposal, the total cost to Cocoa Beach would be $731,231 a year. Cocoa Beach Pier has one full-time and one seasonal lifeguard tower; Coconuts has one full-time tower; Shepard Park has one full-time and two seasonal towers; and Tulip Avenue has one seasonal tower. The total cost to Indialantic would be $230,157 a year for its one full-time and one seasonal tower at the Boardwalk. The total cost to Melbourne Beach would be $40,760 a year for its one seasonal tower at Ocean Avenue.
Paid from Parking Fees
The commissioner’s decision means cities such as Indialantic, Cocoa Beach and Melbourne Beach would have to draw from their beach parking fees and other revenue sources to cover the cost of operating lifeguard stations on their beaches, a service that had been funded out of county government revenue.
