Explaining the Salt Lake City Mayor's $475 Million Budget Proposal

Last Tuesday, SLC Mayor Erin Mendenhall proposed a $475 million budget to the City Council, up 6% from last year. While it actually costs ~$2 billion to run our city, the General Fund is the portion of the budget funded by residents (think: property tax, sales tax, fines). It’s our money, it’s our business!

Notes on the General Fund Proposal

Big themes include making Salt Lake City more family-friendly, increasing pedestrian safety, and what I’m calling Sports Lake City — preparing downtown for the NHL, 2034 Olympics, and maybe one day a championship-winning Jazz team.

Big Line Items 💰

• $119 million: Policing, including 10-12 new cops along the Jordan River and North Temple.
• $52 million: Fire department.
• $10 million: Public transit + on-demand ride services on the westside.
• $2.6 million: Affordable housing, not including $18 million already approved by the RDA.

Medium Line Items 💰

• $750k: Repairing fractured sidewalks.
• $300k: Making pedestrian crosswalks safer.
• $216k: Hiring an advisor to oversee rapid transformations downtown.
• $100k: More community ACE Grant funding.

Where You Come In

The SLC Council has until June 30 to vote on a final budget. Until then, they’re taking feedback from residents:

📝 Submit an online comment.

📞 Leave a voice message at (801) 535-7654.

🏙️ Attend a public hearing on Tuesday, May 21 or Tuesday, June 4 at 7 p.m.