Austin Adds Fees at Four Pools, Hikes Lifeguard Pay to $22.05 | The Locally Times
Four city pools will now charge for entry, while two remain free, under a new Parks and Recreation model that raises lifeguard starting pay to $22.05 per hour.
The Austin Parks and Recreation Department is implementing a new operational and financial model for the city’s public pools, introducing seasonal entry fees at some of its most popular locations while simultaneously boosting wages in a recruitment drive for lifeguards. According to a February 18, 2026, press release from the department, the changes took effect on Saturday, March 14, 2026. The new structure links user fees directly to the operational costs required to keep pools safely staffed and open for the community throughout the swim season. ## New Fees at Four Pools, Free Access at Two Under the new plan, four city pools now require seasonal entry fees: Barton Springs, Deep Eddy, Bartholomew, and Springwoods. The department’s announcement frames this as a preparation for the 2026 swim season. In parallel, the press release specifies that Big Stacy and Colony Park pools will continue to offer free entry to residents year-round. Public records do not detail the criteria the Parks and Recreation Department used to determine which pools would transition to a paid-entry model. To accommodate regular swimmers, the city also introduced a season pass, valid through October 31, 2026. The announcement details that the season pass includes parking at Zilker Park for visitors to Barton Springs Pool, though the documents do not clarify if this parking benefit is a new incentive. The February 18 announcement did not contain a fee schedule, leaving the cost for single-day entry and the new season pass unspecified. It directs residents to the general AustinTexas.gov/Pools website for more information. ## Lifeguard Pay Raised to $22.05 in Recruitment Drive Concurrent with the introduction of entry fees, the Parks and Recreation Department’s Aquatic Division has launched a recruitment and training initiative for the hundreds of lifeguards required to operate the city’s pools. The effort is supported by a new starting wage of $22.05 per hour. The department’s public notice states that training is ongoing, with opportunities available during the spring break period. Recruitment materials welcome candidates from diverse backgrounds and set the minimum age for applicants at 15 years. Prospective and returning lifeguards must complete job applications and hiring paperwork before registering for training. By creating a new revenue stream from fees, the department appears to be funding the competitive wages necessary to prevent the lifeguard shortages that have impacted pool hours in past years. However, the department has not published projected revenue figures from the new fees or specified how the funds will be allocated—for instance, whether they will be used exclusively for the aquatics division or contribute to the broader Parks and Recreation budget. ## Implementation Bypassed Public Council Review The timeline of the policy change raises questions about the public review process. The Parks and Recreation Department issued its press release on February 18, 2026. A review of the publicly posted agendas for the Austin City Council’s work session on February 24 and regular meeting on February 26 shows no agenda item for a discussion or vote on a new pool fee structure. The available records indicate the decision was made at the departmental level. Without a published fee schedule, residents cannot budget for summer recreation, and without revenue projections, the financial strategy cannot be analyzed. Future Parks and Recreation budget presentations before the City Council may provide the first public opportunity to examine the financial performance of the new fee-based system and its effectiveness in supporting a fully operational network of public pools.