The focus of Salt Lake County’s 2026 budget has primarily been on public safety, but they eliminated critical public services, which are the backbone of a functioning society. Instead of diverting millions toward symptoms, we should focus on prevention. 

Salt Lake County Council’s recent decisions to close the county-run childcare centers, cut funding for their pre-apprenticeship program for women, and initially freeze the funding for the 10th East Senior Center—promoted by Councilmember Aimee Winder Newton—deserve deeper scrutiny. Importantly, no impact studies or stakeholder meetings were held prior to impromptu votes to defund these programs. 

The county-run childcare centers were framed as “too expensive” to maintain. Newton stated that taxpayers spent $6,000-$10,000 on each child, but this is misleading. The actual cost amounts to approximately $2.76 per taxpayer per year—less than a specialty drink at Swig, and parents paid for care. 

According to James Heckman, Nobel Prize winning economist, there is a $4-$16 return on investment per $1 spent on early childhood programs. The Utah Legislature’s research shows an ROI of $9 per $1 spent. Newton claims the closure is saving millions, but what about the millions being lost? 

The council was given an opportunity to look into things further when the Larry H. and Gail Miller Family Foundation offered $1.5 million to the program in exchange for keeping it open and exploring long-term viability. Newton then decided to speak for the whole council: 

“I told the Millers, ‘No,’” she wrote in texts obtained by the Salt Lake Tribune. In another text thread, she proudly bragged, “I have been a consistent, ‘heck no.’” 

One member making decisions for the whole council is not ethical. Why was this kept secret until the media obtained it through public records requests? 

Newton asserts the county is not responsible for funding childcare—a point that misses the issue entirely. The childcare gap impacts communities not only in Salt Lake County, but across Utah. 

Our coalition has produced two detailed white papers showing that a transition from county funding to state funding is possible and realistic. As a senior advisor to Gov. Spencer Cox, Newton has influence at the state level, yet she has not engaged in pursuing this alternative, or any alternative, to support the affected families.

When childcare centers close, the economic fallout will be immediate. Utah businesses consistently cite childcare shortages as one of their top workforce challenges. Without reliable care, employees reduce hours or leave entirely. The impact falls overwhelmingly on women. 

Councilmember Laurie Stringham claims this isn’t an attack on women, but the data proves otherwise. Utah already has one of the nation’s widest gender wage gaps. When childcare disappears, mothers are the ones most often forced out of the workforce. Women earn less than their male counterparts in nearly every field. Closing centers in a strained care market pushes even more women out of employment and derails their long-term economic mobility. 

In their Nov. 18 meeting, the council also cut funding for the Utah Women in Trades pre-apprenticeship program. UWIT partnered with the county to teach women the skills they need to enter trade work. The program provided tests, mentoring and on-the-job training. 

The council initially compounded this issue by deciding to close and then freeze funding for the 10th East Senior Center. This poor decision was reversed on Jan. 13, after immense pressure from the public. 

Utah Works for Families is thrilled that the council found a creative way to fund the center’s reconstruction. The same efforts were not made to fund the childcare program or pre-apprenticeship program. We believe children and working families deserve the same effort and creativity that the seniors were given and we will continue to push for the restoration of the affordable childcare program. 

Budget justifications were presented without fully accounting for what these programs prevent: workforce disruption, economic withdrawal of women, social isolation among seniors and rising downstream costs to the county. 

The question Salt Lake County residents should be asking is: 

Why are essential, low-cost community programs being cut at the very moment families need them most? Taxes increase every year, so where are your tax dollars going when services are being eliminated? 

County leadership owes the public transparency and accuracy—not narratives that minimize the value of services or inflate their cost. Defunding these services may result in slightly lower taxes, but it destabilizes communities and increases reliance on welfare programs. The cost savings now will result in higher costs in the long run.