Please do the right thing for our lifeguards and the crown jewel of Austin that is Barton Springs Pool.

— Austin Resident 78745

We expect them to be alert at all times. Let's give the pay that also says thank you for caring and having to skills to save a life.

— Kyle Resident 78640

I'm urging the City of Austin to raise lifeguard wages to $22 an hour and improve benefits in order to have more lifeguards on staff this summer! Help Barton Springs Pool and all Parks and Recreation pools to fully reopen and operate safely.

— Austin Resident 78746

Pay lifeguards a wage that supports their lifesaving work and encourages them to stay in their role all season long, which helps keep the Springs open!

— Austin Resident 78759

I love my neighborhood pool. I rarely feel the same sense of diverse/authentic community anywhere else. Please raise lifeguard salaries and get all our pools open.

— Austin Resident 78721

Please raise the lifeguard and city of Austin wages. They keep our children safe and deserve the extra pay for saving lives.

— Austin Resident 78744

The amount of responsibility and people they have to deal with a day just does not match with the pay at all. Especially at big pools such as Barton Springs, Bartholomew, Deep Eddy, Garison, etc.

— Austin Resident 78744

This needs to be done now! Don't lower the standards of guarding to solve the problem.

— Austin Resident 78757

First, I recognize that 2022 is going to be a tough budget year for our city. But I think lifting the wages of lifeguards is not only good for them, but for everyone relying on a municipal pool to make it through the hot summer. This is important to community well being.

— Austin Resident 78744

Both children and adults need the pools open this summer. Especially those without air conditioning! I remember the times when I depended on cooling off in Barton Springs to get through the day because I didn’t have AC.

— Austin Resident 78757

We love pools in the Austin summer hear but we would love our lifeguards being paid a living wage even more

— Austin Resident 78748

As a current COA Lifeguard, 16 an hour and no paid certification classes are turning people away from the job. Employers all over the city have raised their wages, and when someone can start working immediately with no required training or paid training, they will do that instead of lifeguarding. I have lived here my entire life, so I know how crucial our pools are to the city’s culture, but our pools are in danger. Without enough lifeguards, more and more pools will need to stay closed through the summer. However, the current wages and bonuses are simply not enough to attract new applicants for the job. In order to fully staff COA pools and save a crucial part of Austin culture, the city must raise base LG pay to 22 dollars an hour and offer paid certification and renewal courses.

— Austin Resident 78704

Please raise lifeguard pay in Austin Public pools to $22.00 an hour. Trained lifeguards are critical for our pools to operate safely. The more we can keep pools open and safe, the more opportunity there will be for Austinites, especially kids, to learn to swim and gain this critical skill.

— Austin Resident 78735

I go to Barton every week and have witnessed two people get saved from drowning this year, thanks to the lifeguards. They provide a service that makes one of Austin's best places safe and enjoyable. They deserve that recognition and their pay ought to reflect how valuable they are.

— Austin Resident 78702

These highly trained and dedicated young people take life-saving actions daily. There is also a serious shortage of lifeguards that could be solved by increasing pay.

— Dripping Springs Resident 78620

I support lifeguards getting a living wage in Austin!

— Austin Resident 78753

I worked as a cashier for Barton Springs for 2 years and was forced both to find a new job and to move out of my South Lamar apartment because of the discrepancy between the City of Austin’s wages and the city’s alarmingly rising cost of living.

The high turnover and lack of quality staff retainment could easily be rectified by increasing the minimum wage beyond $15/hr. I am now making double this wage working in a restaurant as just a hostess. The city desperately needs to catch up and acknowledge the hard work the Barton Springs staff pours into its maintenance and operation each and every day. Please allow us to become full time employees to receive benefits (I had no health insurance throughout my 2 years with BSP and 3 years in full working in Aquatics) and to be able to survive off of our wages instead of calling upon 16 year olds who will not have the maturity necessary to navigate the depth of many of Barton Spring’s needs.

— Former Barton Springs Cashier

Pools and lifeguards for Austin residents are vital during the long hot summers. Take care of these vital workers. Pay them more.

— Austin Resident 78731

Lifeguards are crucial - and so is swimming during the spring, summer and fall in beautiful, hot Austin. Our city has become easily one of the most popular places in the country, if not the world, to live. Everyone knows it’s getting expensive to live here, and the city cannot function without countless people who currently are not compensated enough to survive. Raise their pay! Our quality of life depends on it, and, more importantly OUR LIVES DEPEND ON THEM!!!

— Austin Resident 78748

The cost of living is rising. You need to raise your pay to attract proper help.

— Austin Resident 78757

I recently witnessed two lifeguards at Barton Springs successfully save a swimmer who was drowning. Their speed & skill was impressive! I strongly support paying higher wages so that we can keep our pools -- already in high demand -- open full time. Please pay our lifeguards $22/hour.

— Austin Resident 78703

Barton Springs lifeguards require a lot more training and dedication for open water qualification than other public pool lifeguards. They deserve the extra pay for their dedication and stewardship of our well-being. We depend on them! How about they can depend on us?

— Austin Resident 78704

They are a committed and crucial part of the spirit and safety of the pool. This is a good way to invest in our world class gem.

— Austin Resident 78704

All city employees deserve a living wage and this goes a long way in assisting a sector that provides an essential service for our community.

— Austin Resident 78701

As a central Texas native who lived most of my life in Austin, I moved out-of-state two and a half years ago because I could no longer afford the cost of living in Austin; even working full time for $20/hr. Which is why I support the movement to raise City of Austin Lifeguard pay to $22/hr. It’s the least we can do for people whose job it is to literally save lives.

— Arizona Resident

Barton Springs is the Crown Jewel and the Life Blood of our wonderful city. Pay the lifeguards what they deserve and open Barton Springs every day of the week!

— Austin Resident 78704

Please raise the minimum lifeguard wage to a livable $22 an hour and address the staffing shortage.

— Austin Resident 78702

Pay these people so we can enjoy the water safely and protect our citizens.

— San Antonio Resident 78215

Lifeguards deserve more pay and tax payers deserve more pool time

— Austin Resident 78751

Fully support this! Pay those lifeguards, they deserve it!

— Austin Resident 78751

Lived in Austin for 19 months. $16 is not near enough considering they are expected to go through training. Which I hear is unpaid which is even worse...

— Now in South Carolina

Lifeguards are crucial - and so is swimming during the spring, summer and fall in beautiful, hot Austin. Our city has become easily one of the most popular places in the country, if not the world, to live. Everyone knows it’s getting expensive to live here, and the city cannot function without countless people who currently are not compensated enough to survive. Raise their pay! Our quality of life depends on it, and, more importantly OUR LIVES DEPEND ON THEM!!!

— Austin Resident 78748