SALT LAKE CITY — As the global coronavirus pandemic continues to throw the economy into upheaval, Salt Lake County and Salt Lake City leaders are bracing their government budgets for a possible economic downturn.

Faced with rapidly declining tourism tax revenue amid the COVID-19 outbreak, Salt Lake County is preparing to shift millions of taxpayer dollars to meet health department, emergency response and other needs.

Meanwhile, Salt Lake City is gearing up to help give financial aid to struggling small businesses, after the Salt Lake City Council on Tuesday informally greenlighted a $1.35 million program for businesses that qualify.

As leaders statewide encourage social distancing to slow the spread of the virus, council meetings held Tuesday were conducted nearly completely online. Most Salt Lake County Council members called in by phone to the meeting, which was live streamed on the county’s website. All Salt Lake City Council members participated in the meeting using web cameras, and only a few city staffers came to the council offices to assist.

Fiscal analysts estimate Salt Lake County budgets could see a whopping $60 million decrease in revenue, mostly due to loss of tourism tax dollars, and a massive demand on the health department budget. Finance staff warned the Salt Lake County Council on Tuesday the upcoming budget needs will be tough, even after last year’s difficult budget season.

“It’s very substantial and requires immediate and swift action,” said Darrin Casper, the county’s chief financial officer.

Tuesday, Gov. Gary Herbert, the Utah Department of Health, and the Utah COVID-19 Community Task Force issued a statewide order to suspend all dine-in services in restaurants and bars for at least two weeks. The order comes the day after Salt Lake County issued a similar order and days after Summit County’s order.

As COVID-19 spreads throughout the U.S., it has brought travel, tourism, hospitality and service industries to a brutal grinding halt, threatening businesses and prompting fears of layoffs.

Casper told KSL he and other county officials will be meeting to discuss next steps, but as of now the county has implemented a hiring freeze, except for high-priority needs like in the Salt Lake County Jail. Casper also told the council his “gut feeling” is the county will need to use roughly $10 million immediately out of the general fund and use rainy day funds to offset tourism revenue loss and meet demands in health department and emergency management budgets.

“The economic impact is going to outlast the virus emergency,” Casper said.

That means other county budgets may have to see cuts to make up the lost revenue and help meet drastic health budget needs. Already, the Salt Lake County Health Department is paying overtime at a “phenomenal rate because people are working in some cases 70 hours plus,” Casper said.

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Utah small businesses fighting to survive statewide coronavirus shutdown

In the wake of the ban on inside dining in all restaurants, bars and entertainment venues, establishments are scrambling to figure out how to stay afloat.

Asked if the county may see layoffs, Casper told KSL it is “my goal and it is the mayor’s goal to do what we can to avoid that.”

“Our revenues are going to decline at a rapid rate, and we need to bring our expenditure rate down to our revenue rate,” he said. “We’re reacting swiftly to it; we’re addressing the revenue shortfall. Our concern is obviously for our businesses and for our citizens.”

In Salt Lake City, leaders are moving ahead with a proposed budget amendment to use 2019 above-budget revenue collections for COVID-19 response.

Of the over $13 million Salt Lake City saw from higher-than-expected sales tax and permit revenue, Salt Lake City officials are looking to set aside $2 million for employee compensation needs — for sick leave and overtime. They’ve also proposed setting aside about $4 million in a holding account for other coronavirus response needs, whether it be for emergency response protection, supplies or further need for employee compensation.

Additionally, the Salt Lake City Council on Tuesday gave early approval to Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall’s proposal to use about $1.35 million for financial aid to struggling businesses, aiming to help businesses provide sick leave to employees and survive loss of business amid forced dine-in shutdowns.

The budget amendment still needs formal approval from the council, expected April 7, but council members all signaled their support so Mendenhall’s administration could proceed with setting up the program and application process.

Mendenhall told the City Council she had some “really cool” ideas on what the city could spend the extra revenue on, “but then COVID-19 came along.”

The mayor said the city must prioritize first “the health and well-being of our community,” protect the “viability” of the city’s health care system and emergency response workers, maintain basic functions and “keep the wheels on the city as we roll through this,” and then “support the resilience of our economy.”

The $1.35 million small business loan program will help “us to provide emergency quick assistance” to struggling small businesses, the mayor said. The details of the program and which businesses would qualify are forthcoming.

“Know that as a city, and with the council, we are working as fast as we can — literally right now — on putting together some funding opportunities and tools for us to help fill those gaps,” Mendenhall said in a video statement posted on social media. “We know federal funding and support is coming, but in the meantime, we’ve got to keep our economy afloat.”

All council members were supportive of the program. Salt Lake City Councilwoman Ana Valdemoros, herself a downtown restaurant owner, said she feels a “sense of urgency” as she’s heard concerns from businesses seeing alarming decreases in patrons. She said some who normally sell $2,000 worth of product in a day have only sold $100 in the last four or five days.

“The faster we can do it, the better,” she said.

The governor announced Tuesday that Utah leaders received confirmation Utah business owners impacted by COVID-19 are now eligible to apply for low-interest disaster loans to recover. He urged business owners to visit sba.gov/disaster and coronavirus.utah.gov/business/ to apply.

Salt Lake County Councilwoman Shireen Ghorbani, expressing concerns of how the disease will impact vulnerable populations including the homeless, asked Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson about what could be done to halt evictions or foreclosures.

“It just is making me sick, thinking about what those people are going to do,” Ghorbani said, choking back tears.

“I do think this is and will be for a very long time a high-stress event on us all,” not just on vulnerable populations but on general population, Wilson said. She added she has people assigned specifically to mitigate impact on vulnerable populations like the homeless or those already struggling with mental health issues including depression.

As for evictions, Wilson said she’s “really interested” in what can what can be done to halt them, and she urged anyone with ideas to send them her way.

“By the end of the week, I will be addressing that,” she said.

Wilson said she hasn’t “completely broken down yet,” but as she was sitting on the floor of the county’s emergency operations room, watching staff working hard and tuning in as national news outlets broadcast reports that “America is shutting down,” she felt proud of and grateful for county staff.

“I don’t want to predict what I can’t control, but I feel like our collective community effort is really going to make a difference in the end,” Wilson said.

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