Public Services seeks five new FTEs for Clean City program as council presses streets maintenance needs

Salt Lake City’s Public Services department presented a proposed fiscal-year budget of $49,000,273 and asked the council to consider items including a new Clean City team, adjustments to facilities funding and a proposal to shift right-of-way engineering staff to the Department of CAN.

“Our proposed budget is just over $49,000,000 … a 6.8% increase or $3,100,000,” Kate Wearett, a council policy analyst, said in her introduction to the department’s presentation.

Why it matters: Public Services maintains streets, facilities, right-of-way services, and other public-facing infrastructure. Council members focused questions on how the department will increase lane-mile treatments and stabilize street-condition outcomes as the city tries to arrest deterioration and reduce long-term reconstruction costs.

Key items in the Public Services proposal - Clean City team: The department requested five new FTEs and new operating funds to consolidate multiple cleaning services—rapid intervention (illegal dumping, encampment cleanup, sidewalk scrubbing), business-district maintenance and a dedicated North Temple corridor crew—under a new “urban services” division. Director Jorge Camarillo (Director of Public Services) said Advantage Services, the city’s bio-waste cleanup contract, is proposed to move to Public Services with a $750,000 contract allocation and start-up funding of about $124,000 for North Temple staffing and $202,500 in one-time startup costs for other rapid-intervention capacity. - Engineering shift: The budget proposes splitting the engineering division: 37 FTEs focused on right-of-way construction management and permitting would move to CAN; 13 FTEs—managing architectural facilities and construction outside the right-of-way—would remain in Public Services. The transfer was described as budget-neutral. - Ballpark activation and facilities: The department requested roughly $789,000 in contracted services and about $66,200 in one-time costs related to activation and securing the city-owned ballpark following the University of Utah’s last game. Additional ongoing facility maintenance and janitorial funding requests totaling around $168,000 were described as responses to recurring vandalism and new police substations the department now maintains. - Crossing guards and wages: Public Services proposed making part-time/seasonal staff cost-of-living adjustments consistent with full-time staff, which the presenters said would benefit some 80 crossing guards and improve recruitment and retention. - Streets maintenance funding: The department noted $300,000 of anticipated county sales-tax revenue targeted for striping, signs and roadway markings, and requested more capital funding for mill-and-overlay work in the CIP conversation.

Council concerns and streets discussion Council members pressed department staff on street-condition outcomes and treatment rates. Council member Dugan highlighted lane-mile targets versus recent performance: the goal is 120 lane miles per year but recent years have delivered far fewer miles (85–89 lane miles in recent years). Staff explained the choice of treatments (chip seal, slurry seal, mill-and-overlay, inlay) and said weather and equipment availability affect annual totals; mill-and-overlay extends treatment time and is more expensive but necessary for some road segments. Julie Crookston (Deputy Director) said weather variability can drastically change achievable chip-seal totals: “chip seal is and slurry seal are very weather dependent... the variance that you see between the years has a lot to do with the weather.” Council members asked whether additional equipment or FTEs were needed to avoid a single-machine failure stopping operations; the department pointed to a CIP request for $3.5 million to pay for deep overlays and said a citywide road-condition assessment was planned to inform longer-term strategy.

Next steps and implementation risk Several of the items require further council review and CIP funding (for mill-and-overlay and reconstruction work). The Clean City team proposal requires council approval to move contract funding and staff. The proposed engineering transfer is budget-neutral but will require administrative alignment with CAN. Staff said the department will continue work on the CIP and respond to council follow-ups on street-treatment strategies and enforcement coordination.

Ending note Council members expressed support for consolidation of cleaning services but asked for clearer geographic flexibility and stronger detail on street funding to meet lane-mile targets. Public Services said it will provide additional information, and the items will be considered during the budget and CIP processes.