Parks Seek 400 Seasonal Workers by Summer

Lucille Berrien Park. Photo by Graham Kilmer.

Milwaukee County Parks is trying to fill approximately 400 seasonal positions before the summer begins.

The department, which maintains 142 parks across the county, is offering $100 referral bonuses for both new hires and the returning employees as it attempts tp fill a variety of positions.

The department is holding a hiring event Wednesday, March 27th at Kosciuszko Community Center, 2201 S 7th St. from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Parks is looking to fill seasonal openings in golf maintenance, golf pro shops, McKinley Marina dock hands, beer garden servers, aquatics, food and beverage sales, seasonal park rangers and admissions.

Parks relies on as many as 1,000 seasonal workers every year to operate the parks system during the busy summer months. In recent years, the department has struggled to fill all of its seasonal positions, reflecting the wider labor market challenges across the country. In 2021, the July 3 fireworks show was cancelled for lack of seasonal workers to run the annual event that draws massive crowds to the county’s lakeshore.

Elected officials have brought great attention and resources to one particular seasonal position: lifeguards. As the system has struggled to staff lifeguards, fewer and fewer pools have opened. The department has made improvements in growing its lifeguard recruitment since the numbers hit an all-time low in 2021.

The department plans to provide a robust signing bonuses for lifeguards in 2024, starting at $250 for for first year guards and increasing each year to $550 for returning fourth-year guards, according to a report presented to county board supervisors this month. Lifeguards will also be eligible for the $100 referral bonus.

The starting pay for the seasonal positions across the rest of the parks system range from $9.68 per hour to $19.79 per hour, according to the department.

Anyone interested in a parks job this summer can simply walk in and be interviewed Wednesday at the community center, or sign-up for an interview slot online.