Civic literacy · Salt Lake City
How Salt Lake City
government works
Three short videos, about three minutes each. Watch them in order, or jump to the one you need. Each has an optional quick check underneath.
Video 1 of 3
Who runs Salt Lake City?
The mayor and the city council, the seven districts, and how each branch checks the other.
Quick check optional 4 questions · Pick an answer to see how you did.
1. Who proposes the city budget each spring?
2. How many members sit on the Salt Lake City Council?
3. Which statement about council members is true?
4. Before 1979, who ran Salt Lake City?
Video 2 of 3
How a city rule becomes law
Follow one ordinance from idea to hearing to vote to the mayor's desk, plus the yearly budget.
Quick check optional 5 questions · Pick an answer to see how you did.
1. What is an ordinance?
2. Can the public speak at a council work session?
3. How many of the seven council members must vote to override a mayor's veto?
4. What happens if the mayor does nothing with an ordinance for 15 days?
5. By state law, the council must adopt the budget before…
Video 3 of 3
How to make your voice heard
When the council meets, how to sign up, the two-minute rule, and other ways to comment.
Quick check optional 5 questions · Pick an answer to see how you did.
1. How long does each speaker get during public comment?
2. Can you give your two minutes to a friend?
3. Why does the council usually not respond during public comment?
4. How is general public comment limited at a meeting?
5. Which is a real way to comment without going to the meeting?
Want the full lesson?
The sample module turns these videos into a three-period civics unit, with primary sources, a structured discussion, and a two-minute public comment students deliver themselves.
See the sample moduleFacts checked against slc.gov, the Salt Lake City Code, and the Utah Code on September 29, 2026. Photos are credited at the end of each video.