Estimated read time: 5-6 minutes
- Salt Lake County Council voted to close county-funded child care centers by May 2026.
- Parents like Jessica Earl express frustration over finding affordable alternatives for child care.
- Council members acknowledge burden on families and said they'll continue seeking affordable solutions.
SALT LAKE CITY — Nearly 300 families who rely on the four child care facilities funded by Salt Lake County will have to find new means for day care by the middle of next year.
The Salt Lake County Council voted 8-1 in favor of the 2026 budget, which includes a property tax increase of about 14% — modified from the initially proposed 19.6% hike.
The County Council said it made about $12.4 million in budget cuts across the county to reduce the property tax increase.
The final 2026 budget vote comes with other impacts that have parents like Jessica Earl, of Millcreek, now trying to figure out child care options for her son, as the child care services will end after May 31, 2026.
Earl's 2-year-old son attends the day care program at the Millcreek Activity Center. The subsidized child care service is also offered in Kearns, Magna and the Northwest Activity Center, and serves a total of 271 families.
Earl said finding similar affordable options will likely be tough.
"One thing that is really frustrating is there are no other options that are similar to this, in the sense that — for me — has to do with how much it costs each month," she said.
In October, in a Republican majority vote, the County Council approved a measure to eliminate funding for the parks and recreation child care programs, originally targeting the closures for Dec. 31, 2025.
Amid an abundance of public opposition, Salt Lake County Council members in November voted to still close the centers, but would keep them open a few more months, to give families more time to find new child care.
That extension comes with a 20% fee increase, which will take effect in January.
But even with the additional six months, Earl feels it's not enough time for families to carefully vet alternatives. She told KSL on Wednesday that the outcome of Tuesday's vote has left her feeling devastated.
Despite the upcoming change, she's been looking into other options to meet her family's child care needs once the Millcreek Activity Center is no longer an option.
"Someone at my work suggested the Boys and Girls Club, and so I looked, and I emailed them asking them, like, how long their waitlist is," Earl said. It would be about $70 more a month than their family pays for child care now, Earl noted, and although money is already tight, she believes they could make it work.
She said she's also looked into a program with the Granite School District, which would provide limited child care, as well as having family members help out.
"I think our very last resort is, you know, changing my schedule; (or) my husband changing his schedule — if that's even possible," she said.
Earl was among those who packed the County Council's chamber on Tuesday and spoke in strong opposition to closing the child care facilities.
"The child care program amounts to a .23 cent increase out of the whole portion of this budget. That's it, and you are not saving taxpayers much by cutting it completely," said Jefferson Curtis, before the council.
But it wasn't just Salt Lake County residents with children who supported keeping the programs going.
"I want to be very clear, I have no children, and yet, year after year, I pay my property taxes knowing full well that a portion goes to public schools, libraries, community centers, recreation facilities, many of which I will never personally use," said Kristin Johnson, a resident of South Salt Lake. "This is not a burden; this is what shared responsibility looks like."
Mackenzie Miller, of Magna, who has been another advocate of keeping the centers open, said he's frustrated over what he perceives as the county's lack of responsibility in transitioning child care services.
"I spoke with (Councilwoman) Aimee Winder Newton last night, and pretty much said 'I can accept that you guys don't want the county to be responsible for child care, but you should still be responsible for helping transition,'" he told KSL.com on Wednesday.
Like Earl, he also fears having to fork out more money than he can afford for child care, as his daughters will no longer be able to attend the Magna Recreation Center.
"I'm anticipating my child care costs to probably quadruple," he said.
Though the final vote was passed on Tuesday, some parents say they are not done fighting the issue and will continue pushing for affordable child care options in the county.
In a media release sent by the County Council's Democratic caucus shortly after Tuesday's vote, they acknowledged the burden families will face in having to seek alternative child care options.
Some members of the County Council said they, too, will continue fighting for services like county-run day care facilities, since funding could not be preserved in the final budget.
"While I have supported millions in dollars in cuts to the proposed budget, there are some cuts that I opposed. I opposed cutting funding for the 10th East Senior Center, and I opposed a sudden closure of child care centers because I felt we should have taken the time to find fiscally viable solutions to keep them open, partnerships, and support from the community," Councilwoman Suzanne Harrison said in a statement posted on her Facebook page.
Last month, Salt Lake County Councilwoman Laurie Stringham said the county has other programs that help families and partners with nonprofits, as well.
KSL.com requested further comment from the County Council regarding the matter on Wednesday, but did not hear back.
