Leave lifeguards in private hands

Virginia Beach is considering taking over lifeguard services at the Oceanfront, a job done for the past 80 years by a small private company, Virginia Beach Lifesaving Service.

The City Council is scheduled to vote today after hearing proposals from the company and from the city's own department, Emergency Medical Services.

There are only two reasons to hand a job being done in the private sector back to the government: If the company isn't doing the job well and safely, or the costs of the contract are out of line. Neither is the case here.

Despite cities across the country that have made lifeguard duty a government responsibility, Virginia Beach has relied on Virginia Beach Lifesaving Service to provide protection on public beaches between Fort Story and Sandbridge since 1931.

Until a few years ago, the service didn't require any public investment because concessions - umbrella and chair rentals, for example - paid for lifeguards.

In 2010, the city took over staffing the 11 lifeguard stands at Sandbridge to save money, and it did - about $111,000. VBLS continued to provide lifeguards for the Oceanfront under its seven-year contract, which expired last fall. The city solicited bids for a five-year contract while considering whether to take the responsibility in house.

Neither the city nor those championing EMS cited safety as a reason. In fact, officials called VBLS "highly qualified" and said the company's "professionalism and capability are unquestioned."

If the city is satisfied with the company's safety record, that leaves only cost as a reason to end the private service.

As has always been the case, Virginia Beach Lifesaving Service was the only company bidding to guard the beaches between Fort Story and Croatan for the next five summers. The difference in its bid for $1.4 million a year and the city's estimate was between $200,000 and $300,000 a year.

City officials figured in the cost of workers compensation, liability insurance and loss of tax revenue when analyzing the two proposals. They argued that it's more difficult to control a public safety service provided by a commercial vendor, and that having the service in-house would allow greater flexibility to modify services or meet evolving needs.

They acknowledge that it's hard to know what the city's costs will be in future years, because the city's budget changes. And the company might be financially responsible for negligence in situations where the city would have immunity.

The city was smart to analyze the costs to provide the service. But looking at the numbers, it's not worth the money to take away the business of a company that seems to have served Virginia Beach well all these years.