Lavallette (Just About) Ties Record for Seasonal Beach Badge Revenue

Lavallette Borough Hall (Photo: Daniel Nee)

Sunny skies and a busy summer tourism season led to a banner year on Lavallette’s beaches in 2022, with the borough just about tying a previous record for beach badge sales.

The grand total for badge sales this year added up to $1,267,267, said Councilman Michael Stogdill. For comparison, the 2021 total was $1,260,594, and the current revenue record was set in 2020 with $1,268,844 in badge sales.

Strong in-state tourism and good weather helped keep visitors in town all season long, officials said.

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“We were going over final things on Monday, and when we looked back, not once did we have to send lifeguards home this year due to inclement weather,” said Stogdill.

Badge checkers left early twice this season due to weather, and there was just a single day in June when guards reduced their daily manpower due to cool and cloudy conditions that kept beach attendance low.

“It never looked like there were a lot of people up there, and I think that’s just [because of] the size of the beach, but believe me, there were lots of people up there,” said Stogdill.

A cursory examination of trends for the season indicated senior badges and season badges had a “significant increase” over last year, and other badge categories showed “a little decrease,” Stogdill said.

Lavallette will maintain some lifeguards on duty on September weekends, plus vehicles patrolling the beaches (see separate story for details) to maintain safety. Badges will no longer be sold nor required.