Politics & Government
Budget Cuts Prompt County to Curtail Beach Bathroom Hours
Some local seaside restrooms won't open until as late as 11 a.m. in the summer, according to the county's Department of Beaches and Harbors.
The Los Angeles County Department of Beaches and Harbors, which oversees two dozen beaches, has announced plans to cut back on restroom hours and other services due to budget constraints.
The beach service curtailments will begin May 1 to help the department stay within its budget, according to the county.
With beach restroom cleanings starting at 7 a.m. under a new schedule, the later start time may mean that some restrooms will not open year-round until as late as 11 a.m., the department said in a statement.
The later start time will allow crews to work further into the afternoon when bathroom use is at its peak.
In the winter, maintenance crews will only perform one "heavy" cleaning of the restrooms each day. Some Los Angeles County beach restrooms will be closed on weekdays and possibly some weekends, which also has been the case in past winters.
Volleyball net replacement, parking lot cleanup, weed abatement, landscaping and large debris cleanup will occur only when daily staffing levels allow. The county Department of Beaches and Harbors maintains 52 restrooms along the coast.
"The curtailments are due to the state’s historic budget crisis and the overall local economy severely hampering the department’s ability to sustain beach maintenance services provided in the past," the department said in a statement.
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The department has 45 of 58 budgeted maintenance worker positions filled and 20 vacancies, said Debbie Talbot, spokeswoman for the county Department of Beaches and Harbors.
Over the past two years, 33 workers from the county's Transitional Subsidized Employment program, which provided subsidized jobs for workers as part of the American Recovery Reinvestment Act of 2009, were used to operate the beach bathrooms.
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The program ended at the conclusion of the federal fiscal year on Sept. 30, 2010, which also reduced beach cleaning staffing, Talbot said.
The department plans to post information on beach restroom closures on its Facebook and Twitter accounts.
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