PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — For Doreen Buchanan, Sand Key Park is more than a vacation spot. It’s a family tradition.
She drives two hours from Polk County several times to vacation in Pinellas County, where she has thousands of dollars, and the gulf-front county park is the main draw.
WATCH: 'Cut something else': Family speaks out as Pinellas County weighs lifeguard cut to lower taxes
“Whenever family comes to town, this is where we bring them,” Buchanan said Friday on a cloudy but pleasant day at the beach.
The beach is calm, quiet, and safe, she said, thanks in large part to lifeguards stationed along the shore during the summer months.
“I don’t think I would come if they weren’t here,” she said. “And this is the only beach that I come to in Central Florida.”
However, lifeguards at Sand Key Park could be on the chopping block. At an August 14 commission workshop, Pinellas County leaders discussed removing them to save about $152,000 in the upcoming budget year. Those savings, along with four other unrelated cuts, could help lower property taxes.
“So this could be the fourth of five years that you reduce the property tax rate here in Pinellas County,” said County Administrator Barry Burton, who acknowledged the lifeguard cut could be “controversial.”
It wouldn’t be the first lifeguard cut in Pinellas County. According to a county spokesperson, lifeguards were eliminated at Fred Howard Park after the 2024 season because of budget and staffing challenges.
In the Aug 14 meeting, officials said lifeguards should remain at Fort De Soto Park, where first responders are located farther away.
Buchanan said she was upset by the idea of losing lifeguards.
“Every day we turn on the news, we hear about the riptides,” she said. “Cut something else, but don’t cut the lifeguards.”
Commissioner Chris Latvala, who represents Sand Key Park, said the discussion is part of the larger budget process.
“Nothing has been decided yet, but I support giving residents tax relief,” he said. “I believe that even with the unprecedented challenges of the hurricanes this year we will be able to deliver that.”
For families like Buchanan’s, the potential cost savings aren’t worth the risk.
“Enough is enough. The people have to be the priority. The kids, the parents, the grandparents that are out in that water,” she said.
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