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Officials urge change to homelessness mitigation formula; city says it spends over $25M annually
Summary
City officials said the current mitigation formula is insufficient, noting Salt Lake City spends "north of $25,000,000 a year" on homelessness services while mitigation payments to the city are about $2.7 million, and urged a more equitable local-match approach.
During a post‑session briefing, the mayor said Salt Lake City bears a disproportionate share of homelessness costs and called for changes to the state mitigation formula.
"We're spending north of $25,000,000 a year out of our general fund supporting the services and impacts around homelessness in Salt Lake City," the mayor said, and noted the city's mitigation payment is roughly $2,700,000. City officials argued the current formula provides a bargain for cities without shelters and that rising costs—especially salaries—mean the formula should be revised so host cities are not left bearing the majority of costs alone.
Officials said the city expects all municipalities to invest more under any reworked formula and emphasized programs that target high utilizers of emergency services can be more effective than simply adding shelter beds. They described Project Connect as one example of a program anticipated to expand capacity for people with intensive service needs.
