Below are my notes from our April 20th, 2021 City Council Meetings.

Before jumping into the council business, I’d like to share a quick thought about the events of today. Our council meetings were pre-empted and a couple items were pulled because we took a break to hear the jury verdict in the Derek Chauvin murder trial, as well as to attend the REP Commission’s press conference. I don’t think I’ve had enough time to let the significance of this guilty verdict set in for me. It feels like a turning point and I am so relieved. I’m particularly happy for the family and loved ones of George Floyd. I hope with this guilty verdict you are able to breathe. There is a ton of work left to go toward gaining racial equity in policing, but we need to celebrate the small or large victories when we have them.  

COUNCIL WORK SESSION: 

1. ADMINISTRATIVE UPDATES:  

a. COVID: Zip Code 84101 is currently the hardest hit zip code in the city. Based on current metrics we expect that the Mayor’s Emergency Powers will be ended mid-May. The mayor asked us to adopt a temporary land use ordinance prior to that date which will allow businesses to continue using outdoor spaces for business activity.  

b. HOMELESSNESS: 30-35 tons of refuse was removed from the Fleet Block, including hazardous waste and used syringes. We are being asked to appropriate $2M to Switchpoint to purchase the Airport Inn for a permanent use. It is believed that Switchpoint can use the facility in a way that meets current land use ordinances.  

c. POLICING: The council currently has 2 proposal in front of us that would make amendments to the police department budget which we approved last year. These include hiring a lateral class of officer and funding Crisis Intervention Training. Both of these proposals have been reviewed by and are supported by the REP Commission.  

2. RACIAL EQUITY IN POLICING UPDATE: Commission meetings will not be held tomorrow but are expected to resume shortly.  

3. FY 21-22 BUDGET for DEPARTMENT OF AIRPORTS: The airport is not funded by tax-payer money, it operates on use fees and revenue for the airlines and other retail activities. Due to the reduction in air travel as a result of COVID, we have been able to accelerate the construction phasing by 2 full years. The Airport’s budget includes around $391M for additional capital improvements funded by $351M in Airport Revenue Bonds. The most interesting information (to me) was what happened over the course of the pandemic and what we expect in the future. It is anticipated that we will see 11.5M enplanements in 2022 (as compared to 13M in 2019, 10M in 2020, and 7.1M expected in 2021). Federal Grants really helped us out over the past year and the Department of Airports is looking financially strong. FY21 concessions (parking, food and beverage, retail, ground transportation, etc.) were down by about 50% as compared to FY20. The cost per enplaned passenger was up from $5.41 in 2020 to $11.24 in 2021, mostly due to the decrease in passengers.  

4. FY 21-22 BUDGET for SLC PUBLIC LIBRARY: The library is almost entirely funded by property taxes. In contrast to the Airport Budget, the Library expenditures will be kept flat this year. The primary capital project for the year will be to repair and upgrade the Main Library roof. The proposed budget includes reducing staffing by .7 FTE this year but will. But there are a couple new positions funded. Expenses for e-materials will be increased slightly as the demand for those resources has increased.  

5. POLICE OFFICER TRAINING AND PROMOTIONS: This item was pulled from the agenda and is expected at another meeting in the near future.  

6. POLICE DEPARTMENT AUDIT: This was a Draft Report about the results of the council’s Audit of the Police Department. This is both a financial and operational audit with the goal of uncovering the information we need about our department in order to make educated decisions in our legislative duties of overseeing the budget and policies by which our department operates. It was exciting to hit this milestone on what is a significant day in the fight for Racial Equity in the USA, particularly as related to policing. My key takeaways are: 1) we still have a lot of work ahead of us, 2) mental health response remains one of the most obvious and lowest hanging fruits in improving our police department, 3) we need to continue our discussion about what types of calls police are responding to and which can be diverted to others, 4) Internal Affairs and HR practices are critical pieces of the puzzle, and 5) I think my main takeaway was that we did not hear any groundbreaking or brand new ideas. We’re already knee deep in this work and this report will help us continue on the path we are already headed down.  

7. FY 20-21 BUDGET AMENDMENT NO. 8: This item was also pulled and will be addressed in a future council meeting.  

8. BOARD APPOINTMENTS: We heard from 2 appointees to the Library Board and 3 appointees to the Parks, Natural Lands, Urban Forestry, and Trails (PNUT) Advisory Board. My heart is filled with gratitude for Salt Lakers who are willing to serve on our boards and commissions. These are often thankless jobs but they do make a big different to our community. If you have interest in serving you can get more information here: https://www.slc.gov/boards/ 

9. WRITTEN BRIEFINGS: We had 2 written briefings today. The first is about the CENTRAL BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT AREA. This renews the special assessment area in the downtown business district where properties downtown pay an extra amount in taxed to go toward improvements and programs specific to that area (The Ambassador Program, The Farmers Market, Holiday Lighting, etc.). The second written briefing is about the CULTURAL CORE (THE BLOCKS) ACTION PLAN. This is information about what The Blocks program is. You can learn more about The Blocks from the information in our agenda materials or you can go to theblocksslc.com 

COUNCIL FORMAL MEETING: 

1. YOUTH STATE OF THE CITY: Youth City Government members Hattie Wall, Daffodil Buchert, Mia Feldman, and Gregoria Alegria prepared thoughts on Salt Lake City and items that are important to them. It was certainly reassuring to hear from these four smart and capable young women. If these voices represent the future leaders of our city we will be in good hands.  

2. PUBLIC HEARINGS AND COMMENTS: 

a. GRANT APPLICATIONS FOR DISTRACTED DRIVING PREVENTION & BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN SAFETY PROGRAM: We had 3 commenters who spoke in opposition to these applications.  

b. GENERAL COMMENTS: Today we heard from only a handful of people who made comments about topics including: Ranked Choice Voting, Equity in Policing, Idle Free Ordinance, appreciation for the Youth City Government Speakers, and Expressing Gratitude to Councilmember Johnston. 

4. COUNCIL ACTION OR POTENTIAL ACTION ITEMS: 

a. FY 20-21 BUDGET AMENDMENT NO. 7: Approved Unanimously 

b. 1 YEAR ACTION PLAN FOR CDBG AND OTHER HUD FUNDS: Approved Unanimously with CM Johnston Recused (due to a conflict of interest as he is still employed by VOA) 

c. REZONE AT 700 WEST AND 900 SOUTH: Approved Unanimously 

d. INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT WITH SL COUNTY FOR ELECTION SERVICES: Approved Unanimously 

e. 700 SOUTH RECONSTRUCTION INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT: Approved Unanimously 

f. RANKED CHOICE VOTING: RCV without a Primary was Approved, 6-1 (CM Rogers voting no). The formal Declaration of Candidacy period will be from Aug 10-17 and there will only be one election in November.  

g. IDLING VEHICLE ORDINANCE: Approved Unanimously 

h. RECYCLING MARKET DEVELOPMENT ZONE PROGRAM: Approved Unanimously 

i. ANNUAL COMPENSATION PLAN FOR NON-REPRESENTED EMPLOYEES: Approved Unanimously