It will cost significantly more to park at town beaches next year, if a fee hearing planned by the town for next month goes the way members of the beach committee hope it does.

Last week, beach committee chairman Sean Leach proposed increasing the price of beach stickers from $35 to $50 per season, and from $15 to $25 for seniors. Though he acknowledged to the select board that the increase is “significant,” Leach said it is necessary as the town needs the funds to pay for lifeguards and undertake a host of improvements at beaches.

“We didn’t want to do a five dollar increase every year for the next 10 years,” he explained.

Though he said Westport was lucky and was able to fully staff beaches with lifeguards this summer, Leach told the select board that in order for the town to stay competitive with other communities and attract good quality lifeguards, compensation needs to increase. The town currently pays $21 per hour, but Horseneck pays $28, and offers incentives of up to $1,200 for guards who sign on for the season and stay the entire time.

“We’re expecting that we’re going to have to pay more for lifeguards next year,” Leach said. “It is becoming more and more difficult to find personnel. We’re going to have to be competitive if we’re going to continue to have a full contingent of lifeguards.”

Leach said the committee will start putting out a “marketing blitz” to attract guards for next summer, and will also hang flyers at the high school.

The town is currently reviewing all of its fees in the wake of the July failure of the $3 million override, and town administrator James Hartnett said a fee hearing will be held some time in December to review any possible increases.

Regardless of whether the fee goes up this coming year or not, it should at least be easier for residents to purchase their yearly passes.

Processing ticket orders is one of the most labor-intensive jobs at town hall, Leach said, but the town is ramping up a new online system that will allow residents to buy them online. It may take some time for the town to get the software tweaked properly, Hartnett said, and that could necessitate pushing back the dates at which people are able to purchase. But if the system is not ready by the end of the year, Leach suggested, that’s fine.

“We need it as soon as possible,” he said of the hearing.