Over 100 Los Angeles County lifeguards saw a total compensation of $70.8 million last year, with the top earner netting $523,351, a government watchdog group reported on Tuesday.
The lifeguards’ inflated pay was originally investigated by watchdog group OpenTheBooks.com in 2019, when the group found that lifeguards in L.A. County earned wages high above the national average, enjoying lucrative early retirement and health benefits, hefty overtime pay, and leadership taking home hundreds of thousands of dollars, the original report states.
Despite coverage on this reporting from outlets including the Wall Street Journal, the New York Post, Forbes, and Fox, the watchdogs have found that five years later, inflated lifeguard compensation in L.A. County continued to drain taxpayer resources.
An updated 2024 analysis from the watchdogs found that 134 lifeguards earned at least $200,000 in 2024, including benefits, while 34 of the highest earners received $300,000 in compensation packages, according to OpenTheBooks’ new report. Approximately $70.8 million was paid out last year, which also includes base pay, overtime pay, and “other pay” among other benefits.
Lifeguard Services Chief Fernando Boiteux received $523,351 in total compensation, including base pay, additional pay, and benefits, the report finds. Over five years, the top ten lifeguards earning the most overtime collected between $345,000 and $702,000 each, totaling a taxpayer’s payout of $4,782,570 for that group of ten since 2020.
“County lifeguards like Boiteux can retire relatively early at 50, with plenty of time to pursue other professional projects, while collecting defined pension benefits for years to come,” the report states. “Using the conservative end of the scale, at 70% of base pay, a lifeguard with Boiteux’s base pay alone could continue collecting $191,849 for years to come, plus cost of living adjustments, making them potential multimillionaires when all is said and done.” (RELATED: LA Water And Power Officials Rake In Fat Salaries As Fire Hydrants Run Dry)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – JANUARY 11: People take pictures on the beach with the Santa Monica pier on the background with smoke from the Palisades Fire seen in the sky on January 11, 2025 in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by Apu Gomes/Getty Images)
The Wall Street Journal found in 2021 that lucrative payouts for L.A. County lifeguards were a product of non-competitive contracts and cozy union relations in the city of Santa Monica. The Los Angeles County Lifeguard Association has lobbied the county since 1995, the WSJ reported.
“In 2009 the city of Santa Monica signed a 10-year, $25 million contract with the county for lifeguard services,” according to the outlet. “In 2019 the city extended the contract for five years and $17 million. There were no identified competitors and the contract wasn’t put out for bid.”
Other L.A. city personnel, including emergency workers, also earn wages well above the national average.
A top-compensated LAPD detective earned $603,887 last year, with a staggering $404,875 coming from overtime pay. The Fire Department boasts similar numbers, with their top ten employees each clearing over $500,000 in 2024 and a battalion chief who received $905,060, OpenTheBooks.com CEO John Hart reported in an investigative piece this week.
“Cozy public union relationships, layers of government overreach and red tape have put Californians in a hole,” Hart said. “Digging out will take a fresh approach to resource allocation, focused on efficiency and essential services.”
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