The Longport Beach Patrol posted a call for help from residents on their Facebook page.
The Borough is considering an ordinance that would eliminate the pension benefit for newly hired lifeguards beginning in 2026.
The current Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) with the Beach Patrol expires in December, 2025. Currently, a lifeguard contributes 4% of their salary, which the Borough matches.
To be eligible for the pension, a lifeguard must have 20 total years of service and then can begin collecting benefits at age 45.
Earlier this summer, The New Jersey Office of the State Comptroller (OSC) conducted an audit and advised the Borough that their lifeguard pension benefit, established in 1987, was never required for lifeguard seasonal employees. It recommends that the borough no longer offer the benefit as a way to reduce municipal spending.
Mayor Patrick Armstrong, who is retiring soon as deputy fire chief of the Margate Fire Department, is a longtime member of the beach patrol and is eligible for the pension. He will abstain from voting on the ordinance, which will leave the decision to commissioners Dan Lawler and Jim Ulmer.
The Beach Patrol post said that the issue is scheduled to be discussed at the next commissioners meeting on Wednesday, October 15, 4pm at Borough Hall, 2305 Atlantic Ave.
The official agenda for the meeting is scheduled to be posted by the municipal clerk on the borough’s website on Friday, October 10.
