Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams presented his 2019 budget plan to the County Council on Tuesday, which he said places public safety as a “top priority” while maintaining fiscal responsibility.
The budget includes $3.4 million to attract, hire and retain law enforcement officers and staff, which would contain a 2.75 percent pay increase for officers in an effort to stave off the high number leaving the profession.
He also wants $1.3 million to go toward fully funding the opening of two additional pods at Oxbow jail to address the state’s ongoing jail bed crisis.