Like insurance, the Harbor Patrol is merely an expense on the ledger until it’s the only thing that matters. Be that as it may, the San Mateo County Harbor District, which manages and funds the ocean rescue crews, says standing ready, 24 hours a day, for a maritime emergency is an expensive endeavor. And it would like to spread that cost among neighboring agencies.
Last month, Harbor Commissioners heard the district was sometimes paying as much as $33,000 a month just for overtime to keep the Harbor Patrol ready 24/7. The district, which is funded with property taxes from across the county as well as various user fees, says it has paid $1.2 million in overtime in the last three years alone as it seeks to maintain a ready posture. That isn’t sustainable.
So, last week Harbor Commissioners voted to put the patrol on 12-hour shifts in a move it says will reduce OT. And they authorized staff to open conversations with San Mateo County, the county Sheriff’s Office, the city of Half Moon Bay, and potentially other agencies in hopes of offsetting costs. The district estimates it will need four additional harbormasters at an annual cost of $750,000 to maintain service at its current level.
Don’t expect an enthusiastic response from neighboring jurisdictions. Most have pressing financial concerns of their own.
There are all kinds of worthwhile government obligations. The Harbor District must serve the denizens of a working harbor as well as scores of visitors who travel to the coast for fresh seafood purchased right off the fishing vessels and just to have a look at the seabirds at Johnson Pier. But some of these obligations are simply more important than others.
Often the Harbor Patrol is first on the scene, first to discover the tragic toll the ocean can take or first to rescue a fisherman or a surfer or someone’s child. In the last three years, the patrol responded to 313 search and rescue calls and more than 600 maritime assist cases, efforts that cost us almost $9 million over the period.
We suspect most readers would consider that money well spent. That is true whether you live near the harbor or even elsewhere along the San Mateo County coast. It certainly strikes us as a better use of public money than embarking on yet another traffic study for the San Mateo County coast. (You read that right. See the story elsewhere in today’s paper.) We urge the Harbor Commission to do some soul searching with its own budget and to lead the way. Maintaining the Harbor Patrol is more important than new sidewalks in front of harbor businesses or sprucing up the headquarters. It may also be that some cost-sharing is appropriate and area governments should carefully consider that marketing area beaches to visitors carries a moral obligation to keep those visitors safe that goes beyond posting a “No lifeguard” sign.
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