GREEN BAY (NBC 26) — With the recent cold weather and snow, it may be a little too early to be thinking about summer rides on the Zippin Pippin. But the Green Bay Parks and Recreation Department is already thinking ahead for how to prevent staffing seasonal shortages.
The city recently announced a wage raise for seasonal workers at places like Bay Beach and the Green Bay pools.
James Andersen is the Deputy Director of the Parks, Recreation, and Forestry Department. He says the hope is that this helps staffing levels get to the point where they can operate at full capacity.
"The last couple of years we've only been able to open up two out of our three aquatic centers," said Andersen
Starting lifeguard pay this past summer was under $13 an hour. This summer, a city Facebook page says the job will start at $16 an hour.
Andersen says that the exact increase was figured out through different strategies to make Green Bay a more attractive spot for seasonal jobs.
"We took a look at all the neighboring communities, what they were offering, in particular, municipalities, and being the biggest municipality in Northeast Wisconsin, we wanted to make sure we could compete with those neighboring municipalities," said Andersen.
He says that recently they've only been able to fill around 75% of their positions.
"Sometimes we've had to kind of switch schedules and open certain rides during certain times of the day," said Andersen.
With the pandemic bringing flexible work schedules to the forefront, Andersen says that they're trying to adapt despite many of these jobs being hands-on and in-person.
"We still need to be open during business hours so we're trying to find that balance, but we're definitely trying to work with people, find flexible scheduling for them or find ways to accommodate them when possible," said Andersen.
A balance that the city hopes to find before the snow melts and it's time to get ready for its summer programs.
