Salt Lake City might scale back plans to hire 50 police officers and instead put more money into improving public transit in underserved areas with the projected new revenue from a sales tax increase the City Council is likely to approve in the coming weeks.
The potential shift, now being discussed among council members, acknowledges an apparent drop in public safety concerns among residents, as measured in recent city surveys. It is also an acknowledgment that the Police Department can meet its goals for expanded neighborhood patrols with a smaller personnel boost.
At the same time, advocates of the shift note that more transit funding would help advance city goals for reducing traffic, improving air quality and boosting economic opportunity, particularly for less well-off neighborhoods on the west side.