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The Salt Lake City Council reversed itself Tuesday and voted to pay Mayor-elect Jackie Biskupski, a chief of staff and one additional staffer 50 percent salary from Election Day to Inauguration Day.
Biskupski had asked for $25,000 in transition funding. Previously, in an unofficial nonbinding straw poll, the council voted 5-2 against such a proposal. Several council members said transition funding had not been allocated before and such funding would have to be discussed in the annual budgetary process.
But Councilmen Luke Garrott and Kyle LaMalfa had argued that a mayor-elect and staff are doing the work of the municipality and should not have to seek private funding for it. They had urged immediate action.
This week, the council made an about-face and voted 5-2 in a nonbinding straw poll to pay for the transition, with council members Lisa Adams and James Rogers voting against the measure. The council voted 5-1 to make the funding available this year in a budget amendment. Adams voted no, and Rogers abstained.
It is expected those positions won't change before the official vote next Tuesday.
Councilwoman Erin Mendenhall said she changed her vote because she was not comfortable with a mayor-elect seeking private donations for a transition. Depending on private donors to help defray transition costs, she said, runs counter to the council's discussions regarding campaign-finance reform.
Garrott, who is the chairman, thanked the council for reconsidering its earlier decision.
"I think it only reasonable to make sure the transition is as smooth as possible for the citizens of Salt Lake City," he said. "Newly elected officials should not be asking [the private sector] for transition money."
But Adams said the mayor-elect should have made plans for a transition, as was the case with Mayor Ralph Becker and former Mayor Rocky Anderson.
Further, she said, the change should not go into effect this year because it appears as a special favor for Biskupski.
"It's cleaner to not have it take effect on the heels of a hard-fought election," Adams said.
Beyond that, Adams said Biskupski has set up a transition office.
"She's already been taken care of," Adams said. "Let's use this for the next election cycle."
Adams, Mendenhall, LaMalfa, Rogers and Stan Penfold endorsed Becker in his failed attempt for a third term. Councilman Charlie Luke remained neutral. Garrott's campaign for mayor ended Aug. 11, when he was eliminated in the primary election.
In a prepared statement Tuesday evening, Biskupski thanked the council.
"I appreciate the efforts of the Salt Lake City Council and their staff in addressing the issue of transition funding this year," she said. "I believe it is in the best interests of the citizens of Salt Lake City that a public funding mechanism be made available to newly elected mayors and council members as they transition into their new roles."