The Salt Lake City & County Building in Salt Lake City is pictured on Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2024. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)
Utah’s top Republican leaders are giving Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall a firm deadline to put together a plan to “restore public confidence, security and safety” in the state’s capital — or the Legislature will take the reins.
That’s according to a letter Gov. Spencer Cox, Senate President Stuart Adams, and House Speaker Mike Schultz sent the mayor on Dec. 13, giving her a little over a month, until Jan. 17, to present a plan ahead of the 2025 legislative session scheduled to begin Jan. 21.
“As Utah’s leaders, we hear daily from business leaders, philanthropists, and citizens who are deeply concerned about the escalating public safety challenges in Salt Lake City,” the letter, which Utah News Dispatch obtained Friday, begins. “These stakeholders have urged the state to step in and address the law enforcement and criminal justice inadequacies impacting our capital city.”