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SALT LAKE CITY — COVID-19 threw everyone a curveball in 2020, and local governments were no exception.
In Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall's case, the coronavirus and a 5.7 magnitude earthquake came within her first 100 days in office. COVID-19 carried on throughout the year and a severe windstorm also ravaged her first year in office.
Those unforeseen developments set aside or delayed many objectives for the Salt Lake City government that were planned in 2020 and created new issues along the way.
They also showed up in the first progress report card for Mendenhall, who took office a little over a year ago.
The mayor originally laid out 57 goals — 27 for the first 100 days of her term and 30 in the first year — within three categories last January: "our growth," "our environment" and "our communities." City officials clarified that these meant prioritizing city growth for all residents, making the city more "environmentally resilient and sustainable" and improving equity among all residents.
A year later, the city completed 15 of its 27 goals from the first 100 days and seven out of its 30 first-year goals. Another 25 goals are currently in progress, while 10 goals weren't yet started from the list of 57 goals.
"While 2020 presented many challenges and detours from the work we set out to do at the beginning of the year, I think it's remarkable that the majority of our commitments were completed or are on the path to completion," Mendenhall said in a statement. "So much good was accomplished by the Salt Lake City team."
Here's a look at the status of the mayor's original 57 goals one year later.
The accomplishments
Most of the mayor's goals that were set aside for her first 100 days are either complete or in progress, according to the document. These include noticeable changes like the new city flag that's found on the report's letterhead, which came on top of the start to rebrand city tourism.
The city also passed a joint resolution last month to push for more electric vehicles, which completed another 100-day goal. It also began the development of an "urban wood re-utilization program" where it could divert 2.5 million pounds of wood that would have otherwise ended up in the landfill — although the budget allocation was delayed to become a 2021 prioritization.
Mendenhall also reached her goal to better advertise homeless services that the county has and address the need for "low-barrier overflow shelters in the winter months," but the report added that the latter still needed long-term solutions.
One thousand trees were planted in the city's west side, which was an example of one of the first-year goals completed — although the windstorm in September topped over 1,000 trees in the city last year. Salt Lake City also completed some capital improvements to help with increasing public transit use in addition to work to gather input on affordable housing ordinances — with an ordinance proposal expected later this year.
What's still in progress
There are quite a few goals from 2020 that are still in the works.
For instance, the development of a year-round public market, much like the popular farmers market during the summer, is still in progress. City officials said they hope state legislators will pass measures to support that during the 2021 Legislative Session to make it happen. That was listed among the first 100 days goals.
Meanwhile, the University of Utah's Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute provided city officials a report detailing equity indicator options to help Salt Lake City compile equity baseline data for another goal, the document added.
Two other goals were also in motion. They included an anti-hate initiative that's already in the works, according to the city. It was also in the process of analyzing its diversity and inclusion training program.
"Additionally, we've examined how HR practices are applied in city departments — most notably police — to ensure the same objectives," the report added.
The city also reports it updated its sustainability policy and it's been routed internally for comments. The goal was to update and enforce a policy that focuses on sustainability with "every operational decision."
The report stated that the city plans to restructure internal departments in 2021. It aligns with Mendenhall's goal of "eliminating barriers, streamlining decision-making and breaking down silos."
The city is currently working on a proposal for environmental requirements that it will share with the residents and the Utah Inland Port Authority. That would go toward a goal to work with residents and businesses to "analyze modeling on the impacts of Inland Port development on transportation and the environment, including impacts on sensitive lands, air quality, water quality, and water supply."
Officials say the city is also planning to complete a financial risk assessment and business continuity planning to "prepare for a potential economic downturn" in early 2021. It's also planning to implement Spanish-speaking and translating resources in an effort to support business development, as well.
The city is also still working on its year one goal to work with other jurisdictions to develop a plan for the unsheltered homeless population — especially for the winter months. That's on top of several other goals for the first year.
Another goal is to make sure that the development of the city's northwest quadrant is "leading edge and reflective of the City's social and environmental goals." There's also an update to the master plan for the west side of the city to fast track development in the area.
In addition, the city's waste and recycling division is expected to complete exploring the cost of transition to a pay-by-weight waste system. The city also is working to implement solar and electric vehicle readiness policy, although it reported that building codes might be a barrier.
The incomplete goals
COVID-19 and budget issues tied to the coronavirus were two large contributing factors as to goals that ended up as incomplete on the report card. Many of the 2020 goals are also to be reprioritized this year.
Most of the goals that didn't make it centered around first-year environmental plans. In fact, six of the 10 goals that weren't yet started fell under this category.
It includes enacting an ordinance that would require all new buildings that are funded by the city to be all-electric and emission-free by 2023. While delayed, the goal was re-prioritized again this year.
The goal to "secure general budget funding for sustainability work to alleviate reliance on dwindling fee revenues," for example, was reportedly delayed due to COVID-19 funding needs. It's expected to be considered for the next budget year.
Meanwhile, a goal to assess placement and funding for business and cultural districts was marked incomplete due to "other pressing economic needs." It, too, was to be reprioritized in 2021. COVID-19 also made it difficult to hold a business roundtable to understand limitations and opportunities for businesses within the city's west side, which led to another incompletion.
The full report card with all 57 goals and their status can be found here.
