Salt Lake City Council shakes up its leadership, approves new stipend ordinance

SALT LAKE CITY — A new council member is at the helm of the Salt Lake City Council at the start of what figures to be another busy year for Utah's capital.

The City Council voted Tuesday to name Councilman Chris Wharton (District 3) as its chairman for the year and Councilman Alejandro Puy (District 2) as vice chairman. Leadership oversees the council's legislative priorities and sets meeting agendas along with other responsibilities like the City Council office management.

The position also comes with a new pay raise of sorts. The city voted 5-2 to approve new stipends for the City Council and Redevelopment Agency of Salt Lake City leaders, though the new chairman was one of the votes against the measure.

Wharton, whose district includes the Avenues, Capitol Hill and other parts of the city's northeast boundary, served as the vice chairman last year under Councilwoman Victoria Petro (District 1). He also isn't new to the top spot, having previously served as the council chairman in 2020 after first taking office in 2018.

That experience, he told KSL.com after Tuesday evening's meeting, has him prepared to expect the unexpected, as he oversaw City Council happenings at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. That year also included an earthquake, protests over racial inequality and a destructive windstorm.

"You have to be adaptable in this job," he said. "Yes, there are goals that I want to achieve. I absolutely want to help my colleagues achieve as many of their goals as possible, but life is unpredictable, and sometimes something happens like a pandemic, and you have to pivot."

That was also the case last year when the NHL's sudden arrival in Utah served as one of the biggest events of the city in 2024. Meetings and negotiations over drastic downtown changes carried on for months before the council approved a partnership agreement and a 0.5% sales tax increase.

The tax went into effect last week, while negotiations between Salt Lake County and Smith Entertainment Group are expected to pick up over the next few months before everything is settled.

This year already figures to be a busy one based on circumstances outside of the City Council's jurisdiction.

City leaders expect that housing and homelessness will be key issues this year, especially after state leaders sent the city a letter last month calling on them to address policing and criminal justice "inadequacies" and asking for them to present a public safety plan ahead of this year's legislative session.

They also anticipate changes in immigration policies with a new presidential administration taking over later this month. The council spent over an hour during a work session earlier Tuesday receiving updates on likely state and federal policy changes, ranging from immigration to energy reform.

Wharton said he also expects to see some refinements to agreements made last month tied to major changes coming to the Fairpark neighborhood. But, overall, he says he's hopeful his second time in the council chair seat won't be as chaotic, even if he knows all too well that anything can happen over one year.

"It can be a number of things that can come up, and you have to be ready to accommodate those," he said.

Other council changes

The City Council also voted Tuesday to approve new stipends for council leadership over additional pay raises. The council chairman will now receive a $3,000 stipend moving forward, while the vice chairman will receive a $2,000 stipend for their work.

Members who serve in the Redevelopment Agency of Salt Lake City leadership will also receive a stipend, ranging from $1,000-1,500. However, members were split on whether to approve the measure.

Salt Lake City Councilwoman Sarah Young, speaking in favor of it, acknowledged that leaders have a "significantly increased workload," and the stipend can help offset costs tied to that.

But Wharton voted against it, arguing it's possibly premature before larger compensation reforms could be picked up this year. Councilman Dan Dugan, a former chairman, also voted against it, saying he doesn't believe it's "necessary."

Compensation became a heated issue last year after the mayor and City Council ended up receiving major raises from the 2025 budget. Council pay rose from about $42,000 to almost $53,000.

The City Council also approved a campaign finance amendment ordinance, removing the political action committee and political interest committee reporting components of reporting.

This drew the ire of one resident, who said it could do "harm" in transparency; however, Wharton and others later clarified — before the vote — that the change only aligns the city law with state law.

Related topics