SALT LAKE CITY — How the COVID-19 pandemic will affect Salt Lake City’s budget and a look into when businesses will reopen highlighted an online "ask me anything" town hall Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall and various directors of the city’s divisions participated in Wednesday.

The event, which was streamed on YouTube and social media platforms, allowed residents to receive answers to questions they’ve had during the pandemic. If you missed the virtual meeting, here are some of the highlights:

When will Salt Lake business reopen?

As the state inches closer to reopening its economy, which all but closed abruptly amid the pandemic, city officials advised that things won’t open back up all at once. It repeats a similar message delivered by Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson last week.

No exact dates were dropped during the hour-long session. Mendenhall said city officials are keeping tabs on data and working with health officials to make decisions on business closures. That data, she explained, centers around spread rate. Recently released Salt Lake County Health Department data shows four of the five most-affected ZIP codes are in Salt Lake City.

"It’s a dial; it’s not a light switch," Mendenhall said. "We’re not going to see a scenario where we say, ‘Everything’s open again, and also social distancing measures are removed.’ We’re going to be looking at that data, which is detailed."

How this affects the budget

The mayor pointed out that she was in the process of submitting a budget proposal Wednesday, which will be proposed to the city council in May. Even before that’s revealed, she said the city is "definitely experiencing decreases" in its overall revenues, which she suspects will continue for the next few quarters and into the next fiscal year.

"We are taking a conservative and realistic approach to our budget," Mendenhall said.

On one interesting note, she said the city had more one-time revenue than expected heading into creating the budget; however, the pandemic appears to have pushed aside some of the original plans she had.

One of the new plans is $1 million set aside for small businesses in the city. She said the city has handed out $20,000 loans at 0% interest for five years to 52 businesses already. There’s also $4 million set aside to keep city employees safe and support some community needs.

"We are not looking to lay off any employees, and my heart swells when I say that because that’s the last thing that we want to do as a city," Mendenhall said. "I’m grateful that, to this point, that’s not a reality that we are facing but are still in flux, and we are definitely not through the woods on this pandemic. We’ll continue to evaluate."

More information on possible street openings

Mendenhall announced Monday she is considering making some of the city’s streets open to only pedestrians and cyclists to give residents more room to socially distance themselves when outside. The city is currently looking at which roads this might apply to, and a survey open to the public will close at midnight Sunday.

The idea comes as trails and trailheads all over the city are experiencing increased traffic, added Lorna Vogt, acting public services department director.

"Every trail is seeing a lot of people," she said. "We’re seeing jams at trailheads, and that causes problems for folks in the neighborhood — residential parking."

These streets would be opened for cyclists and pedestrians to be in there, but they would have to share the road with local traffic vehicles, Mendenhall said. Most of the roads being considered are residential streets, she added.

"This is an idea that’s come out of a couple of other cities because, not unlike Salt Lake City, demand for parks, open space (and) trails is just skyrocketing right now," she said. "It’s warmer, kids are homeschooling, and parents — myself included — really want to get our kids outside and get some energy out, so our parks are seeing a lot of demand on them. With playground closures and other certain amenities being closed, it’s really hard to keep social distancing going sometimes in parks. This is an opportunity that we’re exploring with the public right now to see if you want us to create more space outside for you to go for a walk or bike ride or let your kid ride their tricycle around."

As for increased visitation in Salt Lake City’s watershed areas that include space on U.S. Forest Service land, the city’s public utilities director, Laura Briefer, asked that people use "leave no trace" principles so they don’t damage the city’s drinking water.

Park bathrooms may be reopened during daytime hours as early as next week, Mendenhall added.

The reason behind the 'Stay Safe, Stay Home' tip line

The city recently told people who are calling in to report violations of Utah’s "Stay Home, Stay Safe" directive to call Salt Lake City police’s non-emergency phone number, 801-799-3000 or report it online. That addition drew controversy.

"What is this, the East German Stasi? If @slcmayor & @SLCoMayor won’t end this, @GovHerbert should … This will only create divisiveness & distrust in a time when we should be helping each other," Rep. Chris Stewart, whose district covers Salt Lake City, wrote in a series of tweets. "Snitching on our neighbor. Threatening fines and jail time. All of this is far too heavy handed."

Mendenhall clarified again Wednesday that the decision was based on ensuring that complaints related to the order weren’t disrupting emergency services.

"It was absolutely conceived because the No. 1 issue was that our 911 was being bombarded with phone calls of people wanting to say ‘some people outside or a neighbor are violating the social distancing order,’" she said. "Although that is a health issue, our 911 line is not set up for those kinds of calls. Our No. 1 job as a city, pandemic or no pandemic, is to keep people safe. And the 911 dispatch system has to be able to function and answer those calls for medical and other emergencies."

Salt Lake City Police Chief Mike Brown agreed and told people to only use 911 in an immediate emergency situation.

Crime is down, but calls are up

Speaking of police, Brown gave some statistical crime updates through the pandemic. Overall crime in the city is down slightly compared to this time last year, he said. Specifically, violent crime is down 3% and property crime is down 1.6%.

That said, they have seen a 10% spike in overall calls. He said going on medical calls has jumped 29% over the past 30 days and domestic violence calls are up 15% over that same span. In fact, caseloads for domestic violence rose 32% over the pandemic. Additional calls have been for welfare checks and suspicious circumstances.

"Calls for service are up, but that’s OK. We’re here to answer all those calls," Brown said.

Salt Lake police, firefighters maintaining safety during emergencies

Continuing this run about emergency services, there have been some reports of officers contracting COVID-19 in the state; Brown said no Salt Lake City officer had tested positive, as of Wednesday. Officers are wearing masks and gloves, he added.

Salt Lake City Fire Chief Karl Lieb said that dispatchers will ask questions about current symptoms when people who call 911. That information will be relayed to first responders.

"Our firefighters and police officers are going to show up to your residence, place of business, or wherever you are on one of Salt Lake City’s streets, and they’re going to be wearing a mask. And they may be trying to initiate social distancing while they’re on the call," he said. "Instead of four firefighters, for instance, who are trying to help you out at a medical scene, you might just be addressing one. They might be coming to you with a mask, with glasses and gloves on, and they might ask you to put a mask on, as well, in case you are potentially sick.

"It’s a little different than we’d normally operate, but suffice to say, when you call us, we’re going to come in the same numbers, just as fast, and we’re going to take care of you with professional care that we always give," he added.

Plan for Salt Lake City’s homeless population during the pandemic

Taking care of the city’s homeless population was one of the city’s top concerns from the start of the pandemic, Mendenhall said. Since Wednesday typically marks the end of some homeless shelters’ operations for the season, she said there are plans for extending seasonal homeless shelters.

The St. Vincent de Paul Dining Hall/Weigand Homeless Resource Center, for example, was allowed to stay open through June under one of the mayor’s proclamations. The county also rented out a hotel for about 130 extra homeless beds.

Mendenhall also noted that individuals at South Salt Lake and Midvale homeless facilities are being tested for COVID-19.

Why golf courses are reopening

Salt Lake City’s golf courses initially closed like other businesses as the pandemic began to spread in Utah because those who oversee the courses couldn’t figure out precaution and safety measures, Mendenhall explained.

"Golf regrouped and figured out how, by staggering tee times and putting in some physical distancing operations between employees and customers, that they could open," she said. "They’re probably serving fewer golfers than the demand is there for, but golfing is available with some adjustments in place to keep people safe."

Vogt added that the city’s courses are working to ensure all safety measures are met. That means they are only using online check-ins, the clubhouses are still closed, golf carts are unavailable, and all bathrooms are being cleaned after they are used.

"I think it’s important that our residents can get out and get some fresh air and do it safely," Mendenhall said. "We’ll continue to do that as long as we have good compliance."

The full virtual town hall meeting can be viewed here.

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