Earlier this month, Utah celebrated 130 years of statehood. With the nation’s 250th anniversary approaching later this year, Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall opened her state of the city address reflecting on the significance of constitutional rights, both as a Utahn and an American.
“Each of these anniversaries reminds us that history is not something we inherit quietly. History is something we are responsible for,” Mendenhall said.
She said her primary responsibility as a leader in local government is to make residents of Salt Lake City feel safe — especially, she said, at a time when “divisive politics and dangerous rhetoric” feel mainstream.
In a wide-ranging speech that touched on homelessness, public safety and growth in Utah’s capital city, Mendenhall did not shy away from the topic dominating newscasts in the last week from Washington to Minnesota over federal immigration enforcement and the loss of life.
“Recent tactics used by the federal government — in Minnesota, in Maine, and elsewhere — are completely and utterly deplorable," she said. “These tactics are not making communities safer. They are creating chaos. They are eroding trust in law enforcement. They are resulting in the death of Americans exercising their constitutional rights and have no place in the America I call home.”
“Nowhere in the United States is this acceptable and I will not stand for that here in our city.”
Two weeks ago, Mendenhall said she became aware of a rumored Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in the city. Though it turned out not to be true, she said Tuesday that no facility of that nature is welcome in Salt Lake.
“I want to make it clear that I am prepared to use every tool within my control to protect the values of Salt Lake City and the dignity of every one of our residents,” she said. “Every one of us is here because of courage, sacrifice, migration, and belief in a future that did not yet exist, but was possible here.”
“That is the inheritance of this nation. And of this city.”
Public safety: Understanding SLC’s homelessness problem
Mendenhall also made it clear that the Salt Lake City Police Department does not participate in federal immigration operations; rather, the department focuses on what she said were the city’s “actual” safety needs.
One key issue being homelessness.
Key findings in the 2025 homeless report by Workforce Services found that nearly every subpopulation (from children to veterans) of homeless people increased from the year before. Last year, more than 4,500 Utahns were reportedly homeless, an increase of about 715 people compared to 2024.
Mendenhall said that the majority of homeless people are in some type of shelter or temporary housing. “Our police have been especially focused on connecting those living on our streets with the resources they need to find stability,” she said, noting that too often homelessness and crime are used synonymously in the conversation of public safety.
She said that only a small portion of the homeless population is repeat offenders who have attempted to seek treatment, “whether through medical services or homeless resources or treatment programs, but due to their acute and complex needs, they have fallen through the cracks.”
It then becomes a cycle of repeat offenses, getting arrested and then released without effective resolution.
“Nearly all of the police department’s most-arrested individuals — 96 percent — have experienced homelessness," Mendenhall said. “Adding to the complexity, 84% report physical, mental, or behavioral health conditions.”
Last year, when her office released its public safety plan to combat violent crimes in Salt Lake, she said its focus on homelessness, titled Project CONNECT, remains its “most meaningful element.”
The project focused on the 50 individuals in the city with the highest arrest rates and partnered with them to develop personalized solutions to support their needs.
Since the initiative began, Mendenhall said that 60% of the individuals they worked with have had fewer arrests, and because of the project’s success, it’s expanding.
“It is critical to reduce the demand on our officers so they can do their jobs,” she said. “Because our police officers deserve to see their work be helpful and effective, rather than spending the majority of their time arresting the same people over and over. And because these improvements don’t just improve efficiency — they help people who are in desperate need."
Earlier this month, Utah Speaker Mike Schultz commended Mendenhall for her detailed approach to public safety. He told the Deseret News Editorial Board that she collaborated with state leadership to prioritize public safety in Salt Lake City and showed state leadership the city’s key issues.
“Mayor Mendenhall stepped up,” he said. “She came back with a very full, detailed report on where all the problems were. And it wasn’t just the Salt Lake Police Department, although that was a problem. It was the Salt Lake police department, it was the overcrowding in the jails, it was the judges that have this catch-and-release type mentality, and it was the prosecutors.”
Recent audit reports published last month mirror Schultz’s concerns. Reports of the Salt Lake District Attorney’s Office, the Salt Lake City Police Department, Salt Lake County Jail and Salt Lake County’s Criminal Justice System uncovered a countywide law enforcement ecosystem facing severe structural stress.
Enhancing SLC’s streets and promoting growth
Mendenhall acknowledged that maintaining affordable housing options would help address homelessness and is also essential to Salt Lake’s growth.
“The way we care for shared spaces is a reflection of how we care for one another,” she said during her speech. “That care is incomplete without housing that allows people to remain rooted here in our community. And in Salt Lake City, belonging cannot be temporary. When teachers and service workers, caregivers, elders and young families are pushed out. We all lose stability.”
Her point was that as the city continues to improve, develop and renovate its public spaces, it is essential to ensure that there are community members to fill and use those spaces. Construction projects across the city include the Salt Lake City Civic Center. She also said that following the open house of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ Salt Lake Temple next year, the city will be in discussion with the church on how best to beautify South Temple.
“At its core, this is about beautifying downtown and embedding interconnectedness into our very streets and sidewalks,” she said. “This won’t happen all at once. It will move block by block, shaped by the character of each place and the people who live and work there.”
These changes, Mendenhall said, are not just to prepare for the future visitors of the 2034 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, but for the people who call Salt Lake City home.
The Affordable Housing Construction and Preservation Dashboard she presented at last year’s address found that her “administration has invested $135 million into affordable housing,” Mendenhall said. “We’ve supported the creation or preservation of more than 7,600 affordable and deeply affordable units since 2020. Those investments saved renters an estimated $13 million in 2025 alone and $28 million since I took office.”
Over the next few months, Mendenhall said her office plans to present the City Council with a proposal to expand housing options, and later this year, the city will also roll out a program to fund repairs and upgrades to existing affordable housing, while preserving long-term affordability through deed restrictions. The goal, she said, is to maintain buildings, protect tenants, and encourage owners to reinvest rather than sell or demolish properties.
“Over the past year, I’ve been focused on the work behind achieving these goals, rather than seeking headlines about it. Success will not be achieved with words alone," she said.
“Because this is about action. Every. Day. Doing the work, even when the future of our nation is so unclear. Salt Lake City will never stop working to keep our communities safe and growing, our people connected and supported, no matter what comes.”
