Flush with sales tax collections and historic levels of federal funding, the Salt Lake County Council approved a 2022 budget this week that includes big raises for some workers and maintains an aggressive coronavirus vaccination program.
And they are not done yet.
The nine-member council, led by its six-member Republican majority, decided to hit pause on allocating nearly $200 million in federal aid through the American Rescue Plan Act. The members will start figuring out what they want to do with that money in January.
“The budget passed by the council today is a fiscally and structurally sound budget that does not raise taxes,” Council Chair Steve DeBry said Tuesday. “The council funded the Health Department with employees and resources to continue fighting the pandemic, funded a pay increase for corrections deputies to keep the jail open, upped lifeguard pay to keep pools open, and supported parks projects throughout the county.”
In all, the county budget is $1.6 billion, roughly flat from this year.
The council approved the county Health Department’s request for $19 million to continue its amped-up efforts to get residents vaccinated against the coronavirus and its variants. This department, led by Dr. Angela Dunn, is also shifting its mission to a more community-centric public health model that focuses on the root causes of health concerns. This includes working with community leaders and offering information in additional languages, an effort the council supported.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) A Salt Lake County Council meeting in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2021.
One of the major efforts by Mayor Jenny Wilson, a Democrat, and the council was to raise the pay of county employees at a time when labor shortages have hit companies and governments alike. Overall, county employees will get a 2% cost-of-living increase and could be eligible for another 2.75% in merit bumps.
At the request of Salt Lake County Sheriff Rosie Rivera, the council gave a much bigger pay hike to her employees working at the jail and for the public safety division. These employees can receive up to 11% in a base pay increase and an additional 2.75% in merit boosts.
Darrin Casper, the county’s chief financial officer, said even with that hefty raise, the sheriff’s corrections and public safety personnel will reach only the midpoint of comparable salaries for law enforcement employees working elsewhere in the county.
The sheriff thanked the mayor and County Council for “the significant pay increase for our sworn officers. Salt Lake County law enforcement agencies continue to take strides to recruit employees from other agencies. This raise will help us retain experienced staff.”
Other employees, including prosecutors working in the District Attorney’s Office and public defenders, had earlier pay increases that are now cemented in this budget. There are ongoing discussions about whether their pay will need to be upped again as these offices have found it difficult to fill openings.
“It remains a concern, frankly,” Casper said.
The concern about wages stretches from these higher-paying attorney jobs all the way to entry-level county positions. The council approved a request from the mayor to institute a minimum county wage of $15 an hour for all full-time workers, which immediately boosted the pay of about 150 employees. And the council increased the hourly wage of a whole slate of part-time employees and seasonal workers, including lifeguards.
The county has had a hard time recruiting lifeguards forcing some public pools to limit access.
Council members passed the budget in a unanimous vote, praising employees like Casper and noting the broad agreement among themselves.
“We can be proud of what we accomplished,” said Republican member David Alvord.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Salt Lake County Council member Dave Alvord at a council meeting in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2021.
Democratic member Arlyn Bradshaw said the council agreed on “95%-plus” of the budget.
The biggest point of contention involved the budget for Wilson’s office. On a party-line vote, the council trimmed the mayor’s budget by $180,000 and removed two staff positions.
Alvord questioned the number of advisers to the mayor and whether they worked full time. Wilson aggressively defended her staff and accused the cut of being “political”.
Bradshaw voted against this cut but, on Tuesday, described it as a “relatively minor” disagreement and that he hoped the council could channel that confrontation into future productive collaborations.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Salt Lake County Council member Arlyn Bradshaw at a council meeting in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2021.
The council will have its chance as it reviews the many potential uses of the $200 million in available federal funding, tied to the pandemic recovery efforts. The mayor is calling for $20 million to go to affordable housing. Beyond that, Casper said, the council has received 375 proposals for that federal funding worth a combined $650 million. The sifting process will begin in a few weeks.
