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Salt Lake City Mayor Jackie Biskupski in her first budget address Tuesday night used the word "infrastructure" eight times.

She talked about the city's debt service and sidewalk rehabilitation, about storm drains and pavement overlays and parking, about roads and traffic-light timing calibration. She spoke about sewer systems.

But she did not say much at all about what former President George H.W. Bush once called "the vision thing."

"It was a very cautious budget. I've heard her talk about her vision, but it's not clear to me yet what it is. It's been very long on generalities and short on specifics," Councilwoman Lisa Adams said Wednesday on Trib Talk, the Tribune's online interview program. "I have not understood what her vision for the city is other than 'We should be a great American city.'"

Councilman Stan Penfold also is still waiting for the mayor to articulate the big, important goals she wants to lead the city to achieve.

"Being a great American city requires some element of risk," he said. "The nuts and bolts are incredibly important and I do believe we have some focus that we've neglected there for awhile. We do need to look at our infrastructure needs. But I'm feeling like if we don't balance that with some really optimistic or innovative or creative vision for the future, we could really just easily become another one of those cities that's a blip on the map."

Penfold in a later interview noted the stark contrast between former Mayor Ralph Becker, whom he described as "all about vision," and Biskupski, who seems to be "all about nuts and bolts."

"It would be nice," he said, "to be somewhere in the middle."

Biskupski makes no apologies for her feet-on-the-ground, fill-the-potholes-first approach.

"The residents of the city and the people who visit the city by and large … want a focus on the basics," said spokesman Matthew Rojas. They want roads that aren't crumbling, pipes that don't leak and budget ledgers that balance.

"She is an everyday mayor. She is the kind of person who is in the office every day, is really concerned about the city every day, wants to be in the city every day and wants to worry about the things that the residents are worried about every day."

Her overarching vision, Rojas maintains, has been clearly laid out during her campaign and in her first few months in office. "It's about building a city for everyone. It's about building a city that works."

The only reference to vision in Tuesday's budget speech was pointing back to her State of the City address in January.

But it's tough to find a big vision there, either.

One example was naming economic development as a top priority and announcing its elevation to department-level status. But the vision described was "to support and advocate for local businesses, both large and small."

Penfold isn't satisfied. He wants the mayor to spell out the kinds of businesses the city needs to entice, the types of development it should pursue, the jobs initiatives it wants to support.

"I haven't heard any of it yet. That's the part I'm missing. And there's a little bit of a mood of saying, 'Well, when we get our director that will happen.' Well, that's not the director's job, that's the job of the elected officials. It's the director's job to implement that vision."

Adams feels the same lack of substance on other issues ­— clean air for example.

"I heard her say, 'Clean air is really a huge problem. So what I'm doing for clean air is making sustainability a Cabinet-level position.' That doesn't tell me what we're doing," said Adams. "So that's not an answer for clean air."

Mostly what's she heard from the mayor's office, she complained, "are platitudes."

Councilman Charlie Luke was far less critical. He likes what he sees in the mayor's budget and believes her priorities align nicely with the council's.

From fixing roads to addressing homelessness and bringing spending in line with revenue, Luke applauded Biskupski's top-issues list.

"Having a budget proposal from the mayor that focuses on the nuts and bolts does cover the vision thing in my opinion. For a long time we have not seen that coming from an administration budget."

New Councilman Derek Kitchen also praised the priorities outlined by the mayor. He said the budget at first glance seems sound and thoughtful.

Nevertheless, he does want Biskupski to articulate a more ambitious agenda, a clear direction.

"I haven't seen it yet to be honest with you. I'm hopeful we will see a big vision from the mayor," Kitchen said. "We have a number of issues facing the city right now and I think it's an opportunity for us to really shape the city going forward."

But, he said, the council is ready to push ahead. "The council does have a vision and we are moving full steam ahead with our vision."

Andrew Johnston, the other first-year member of the council, embraced the mayor's nuts-and-bolts focus.

"It's really core to what we should be doing for the city, our responsibilities to make sure that we have the infrastructure that keeps us running. It impacts everything about living here in the city and also our economic development."

He said concern about a lack of vision may be more style than substance.

"Some people tend to speak as a visionary — big ideas, broad strokes, long-term direction," Johnston said. "We've had that in the past and perhaps that will come up later. But right now what I'm impressed with is, we've got to take care of some internal business.… We've got to get that under control."

"Now, I would like to hear, as we go forward, her talk more about, as you might say, vision. What the city could and should look like for each of the citizens, what's our overall direction, but I think that's probably still forming as well for her."

Councilwoman Erin Mendenhall and Councilman James Rogers could not be reached for comment Wednesday.