May 5, 2020

SALT LAKE CITY — Mayor Erin Mendenhall presented to the City Council Tuesday night a balanced, proposed Fiscal Year 2020-21 Budget that retains current staffing levels while focusing on the Mayor’s priority of creating equitable opportunities for all.

“We’re in a financially stable place today thanks to previous growth, and I am working to make investments in areas that will help our city recalibrate and thrive,” Mayor Mendenhall said.

City Departments acted quickly in the midst of the current COVID-19 pandemic and recent earthquake to recalculate projected revenue — a challenging task given the economic unknowns — relying on historic information and current economic projections. The proposed $323 million budget is flat overall and most currently vacant positions will remain vacant through January. The budget includes a 15 percent fund balance — up significantly from previous years. 

“While we’re being pragmatic and judicious, the current crisis has not deterred us from big, bold ideas, and this budget has plenty of them, the most important of which is making Salt Lake City a more equitable place for all,” Mayor Mendenhall said. “To that end, we’ve secured funding for two guideposts along the path to recovery — a citywide equity plan and a gentrification mitigation plan that will help direct the future implementation of our FY20-21 budget.”

Once complete, the city’s equity plan will be a guiding document to ensure that all policy, programmatic, and financial decisions are made with an understanding of how the outcomes will affect all people in Salt Lake City. The gentrification mitigation plan will guide leaders in creating policy to address the displacement of residents and businesses as the city experiences new growth and development.

The Council will deliberate the budget proposal and hold public hearings before adopting a final budget by mid-June. 

The entire proposed budget is available here and a video of the speech can be viewed here. 

Other Budget Highlights

• Over $9 million proposed to serve as a critical source of housing stability for residents as the City mitigates and recovers from this pandemic.
• $500,000 for shovel-ready projects identified in the Foothill Trail System Master Plan. 
• Funding for public engagement and a planning process to imagine the future of Allen Park as a destination art park for all of our residents to enjoy. 
• Funding to upgrade critical IT backup servers housed in the Public Safety Building.
• Rehabilitating two of Salt Lake City’s bridges that sustained damage from the March 18 earthquake.
• Water, stormwater, street lighting, waste and recycling rates will not be increased for the fiscal year.