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SALT LAKE CITY — The mayor of Utah's capital city found herself in a new position for her third budget proposal to the Salt Lake City Council Tuesday evening.
This was the first time she faced the council in person to talk about future spending. But Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall quickly promised them it wouldn't be the only major difference as she unveiled her $424.1 million 2022-2023 fiscal year budget.
"This recommendation will be markedly different from the two before it," she told the council. "In fact, it's different from any budget that I saw while serving on the City Council. It is a multi-dimensional proposal that enables our city team to enable the service demands of the people living in our city."
The request includes a 4.9% increase in city property taxes, nearly two dozen new, mostly-civilian officers and a proposal for an $80 million bond to be placed on the November ballot to fund improvements to city parks and open spaces. It calls on a $21 million commitment to affordable housing, as well, which would make room for an estimated 1,000 new affordable housing units in the city.
A balancing act
In many ways, the plan aims to tightrope city needs with market challenges, though, it's a sizable jump from the final 2022 fiscal year budget that clocked in at $367 million.
Mendenhall touted that the city is currently in a '"unique economic position"; at the same time there's unprecedented demand for city services, because population is the highest it has ever been with about 200,000 people. The economic growth comes as the city's building service division has already processed about $2.8 billion in permits, double the number of the previous fiscal year, according to city leaders.
Meanwhile, there were a record 127,000 calls made to Salt Lake City's emergency dispatch last year, despite an overall decrease in crime from 2020. The city also found that over one-third of all residents reported using city parks trails more frequently since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Unsurprisingly, internal city polling found residents want more affordable housing programs, improvements to the environment and increased investment in the city's parks and public lands.
Salt Lake City is growing up and it's my job to bring (the City Council) and all the people we represent a financial path forward that reflects the realities that we're working with — a path that's responsible, prudent and proactive in its approach.
–Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall
However, there are many constraints out of any municipality's control. The mayor was quick to point out that Salt Lake City isn't immune to the rising cost of labor, workforce shortages and inflation. She said that every division and department of the city was already "stretching, reimagining and adapting their work" to meet service demands even before the COVID-19 pandemic led to even more challenges.
Mendenhall asserts that her budget plan finds a way to meet all the challenges head-on.
"Salt Lake City is growing up and it's my job to bring (the City Council) and all the people we represent a financial path forward that reflects the realities that we're working with — a path that's responsible, prudent and proactive in its approach," she said. "Most of all, one that supports the opportunities our amazing residents and local businesses are asking us to help them reach."
Highlights of the plan
The mayor admits she believes residents won't be happy to see a tax increase, especially as the city's sales tax increases and the city continues to receive pandemic-related funding money. However, she argues that the 4.9% raise is "necessary" to avoid larger increases in the future.
"Though our revenues have increased, they have not risen at the same pace as the demands have for our city," she said, adding that one-time federal funding and other sources have helped now but aren't "stable" funding sources.
If the 4.9% increase is approved, that would mean an additional $130.49 per year, or $10.88 per month, for a resident owning a home valued at the median home price of about $520,000, which goes into ongoing city services/expenses, library staffing/expenses and legal coverage.
The proposed budget also includes a rate increase in public utility fees, to pay for the massive $800 million cost to replace the city's water reclamation plant in Rose Park, which is expected to be completed by 2025 to meet new federal standards. This rate was proposed back in 2015 for the 2022-2023 fiscal year; per Salt Lake City Public Utilities documents, that's a 15% increase for water, sewage and stormwater services.
Perhaps the biggest out-of-the-ordinary ask is an $80 million bond in an effort to kick off the proposed 20-year parks and public spaces master plan known as "Reimagine Nature." If approved by voters, Mendenhall said there would be "major investments" in the forthcoming Glendale Regional Park, the recently acquired Allen Park, as well as other projects like the Folsom Trail, Fleet Block and seven other neighborhood parks.
She argued that it's not only about recreation but also meets the desires of residents who want to see environmental improvements.
"These projects will work to improve our air quality and water quality by increasing biodiversity and planting more trees and vegetation," she said. "With this voter-approved investment, we'll be able to answer our residents' call for more access, connectivity, and ongoing care to our treasured green spaces."
Among new hires, most of the proposed 22 new police positions would be civilian officers assigned to the department's victim advocates and civilian response teams, as recommended by the city's Racial Equity in Policing Commission. The proposed budget also calls on a 3.5% wage increase for all police officers and a 6% raise for the city's most experienced officers. The city would also hire 10 new firefighters if the plan is approved.
The first official comment on the plan came Tuesday near the end of the meeting. Resident Christopher Butler called the proposed budget "gross," citing concerns with police shootings in recent history.
"We should be taking not just the proposed ... increase to the budget, but even more of their budget to help people experiencing homelessness, help those who are seeking treatment for mental health and drug problems — all of that would just be a better way to spend this wild amount of money," he countered.
More comments are expected in the coming weeks as the council hammers out the final details. Public hearings on the budget are scheduled for May 17 and June 7, and the Salt Lake City Council has until June 30 to adopt the final 2022-2023 budget, as the new fiscal year begins July 1.
