Put together a plan in the next month to get tough on homelessness or the state will step in. Ticktock.
That’s the warning Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, House Speaker Mike Schultz, R-Hooper, and Senate President Stuart Adams, R-Layton, delivered to Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall in a letter last week.
“Local law enforcement is the front end of the system to appropriately address the disorder that we are experiencing in our capital city,” the state’s top elected leaders wrote. “The ineffectiveness of [the Salt Lake City Police Department] has become glaringly apparent.”
The Dec. 13 letter hit the mayor’s desk as lawmakers prepare to descend on Capitol Hill for the Legislature’s annual general session next month. State leaders and officials in City Hall have long squabbled over a proliferation of homelessness in Utah’s capital and the Police Department’s enforcement of the city’s anti-camping ordinance.
Cox, Schultz and Adams urged Mendenhall to craft a more robust public safety plan by Jan. 17 — four days before the legislative session begins. The letter itself does not explicitly mention homelessness, but an attached outline meant to guide the plan asks city officials to highlight obstacles to dealing with homelessness and include related data.
“The strategic plan,” the letter reads, “should include clear accountability, enforce state law and local ordinances, and achieve decisive outcomes to eliminate crime and restore public safety.”
Succeed, and the state pledges to help. But if “progress stalls or alignment cannot be achieved,” the governor and legislative leaders wrote, they are prepared to “increase state involvement and oversight.”
‘More must be done’
“I am as frustrated as anybody, including our first responders, that the lasting progress on homelessness that we’ve all worked for has not yet materialized, but long-term progress takes long-term commitment and partnerships,” Mendenhall said Wednesday in a statement. “There has never been a quick or easy solution to these challenges, and I’ve said many times I will never walk away from the table in order to do what I must to get the best outcome for Salt Lake City.”
For his part, police Chief Mike Brown defended his agency, saying the department has stepped up its enforcement efforts.
“We recognize the important role we play in improving the quality of life for business owners, residents, tourists and the homeless population in our city,” he said in a statement, “and we recognize more must be done.”
Since at least fall 2023, Cox has been more vocal on homelessness, saying at the time that Utah must end illegal camping across the state and in Salt Lake City. Weeks later, at a news conference with the governor, the mayor announced an initiative to crack down on camps.
This year, as state leaders weighed possible locations for a new 1,200-bed homeless shelter, Schultz said such a facility should land in Utah’s capital so a suburb isn’t stuck with “Salt Lake City’s problem.”
“Salt Lake City leaders need to step up to the plate,” he said, “take responsibility, and enforce policies to stop the criminal activities on the streets of Salt Lake City.”
The Dec. 13 letter to Mendenhall comes two months after Utah Homeless Services Board Chair Randy Shumway threatened to withhold key shelter-related public safety funding from Salt Lake City, saying the lack of law enforcement around drug activity has created “mayhem” and is a “travesty” in Utah’s capital.
Criminal justice system failings
In the letter, Cox, Schultz and Adams wrote that Clark Ivory, CEO of homebuilder Ivory Homes and chair of the philanthropic group Utah Impact Partnership, shared that Mendenhall blamed failures in the criminal justice system for complicating enforcement efforts.
“According to Mr. Ivory, you emphasized the efforts of the Salt Lake City Police Department to apprehend individuals violating the law,” they wrote, “but expressed frustration over a system that often allows even felons to ‘walk free within 45 minutes.’”
Brown, the police chief, echoed that sentiment, pointing to “gaps in the criminal justice system” that hinder progress and leave officers and social workers to “navigate cycles of disorder that erode trust and create perceptions of lawlessness.”
Still, state leaders say, it’s up to Mendenhall to chart a better path.
“The safety and well-being of all Utahns depend on bold leadership and swift action,” they wrote. “We are committed to solving these challenges and expect your office to do its part to restore public confidence, security, and safety in our state’s capital city.”
