After years of lifeguards pushing for their own department, Mayor Rick Blangiardi began the process to officially give it to them by July 2026.

Currently, Ocean Safety falls under the Department of Emergency Services as a division on par with the city’s EMS ambulance fleet. Proponents of the switch say that the differences between these two divisions in areas like expertise and equipment warrants splitting them.

They say that each would be best served as its own standalone department to be managed by someone with experience rising through the ranks as either a lifeguard or a paramedic.

In 2023, the mayor called for a task force during his State of the City address to study the issue for a year and report back with recommendations. 

One option voters amending the city charter during November’s general election to give Ocean Safety its own department, a move that would also allow for the creation of a volunteer commission to oversee it.

The other option was that the mayor could start the process, avoiding the risk of voters deciding against the new department. The mayor however does not have the power to create a commission.

Blangiardi decided on the second option, according to a memo published Wednesday. 

The memo included a draft resolution to initiate the new department. The next step is for the City Council to consider that resolution, which it could reject with a two-thirds vote within the next 60 days. Absent a rejection, the new department will automatically be approved, meaning that the mayor can “take concrete budgetary, human resources, and administrative steps in order to have the department ready to go by the start of the 2026 Fiscal Year.” 

Council member Matt Weyer introduced a separate resolution Wednesday that would allow voters to decide on the narrow question of whether to create an Ocean Safety commission.