The Gondola

The Little Cottonwood Canyon gondola would be the longest gondola in the world, running upstream along Little Cottonwood Creek, Sandy’s primary drinking water source. 

A Utah taxpayer-funded $1.4 Billion GONDOLA in our backyard, tailor made to support private ski resorts at taxpayer expense!

• The first of many Gondola Taxes is estimated at $1,200 TAX PER UTAH HOUSEHOLD - and that’s just to build it, not to maintain or operate it. I anticipate this $1,200 per-household Gondola Tax is just the first of many annual Gondola Taxes developers will want Sandy residents and the Utah taxpayer to shoulder. 

• Taxpayers should not have to foot the bill for a $1.4 BILLION gondola that only financially benefits developers and resorts.

• Along with families all across Utah, Sandy residents would be stuck paying for the maintenance and operation deficits for the life of the novelty.

• If a mayoral candidate says they are against taxes and calls themselves a fiscal conservative, they must fight the Sandy taxpayer-funded gondola project. 

• FYI, my challenger is directly funded by the Gondola developers and the resort industry, and has used her position representing Sandy City to fight against the Salt Lake County Council when they passed a resolution stating their opposition for the gondola. Read this article to see my clear and consistent position against the gondola, versus the pro-gondola efforts of my challenger: https://kutv.com/news/local/gondola-resolution-sandy-city-asks-county-council-not-to-pass-little-cottonwood-canyon-lcc-udot-salt-lake

• I AM ACTIVELY FIGHTING AGAINST taxpayer waste and inevitable tax liabilities over the life of the gondola. EVERY FISCAL CONSERVATIVE SHOULD JOIN THE FIGHT AGAINST THE GONDOLA!! 

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False Claim | The Sandy Economy is Failing

NOT TRUE!

There is a PRO-Gondola PAC that is doing a disservice to Sandy, spreading false information and unfounded propaganda to create confusion on the issues. This PAC doesn't show clear, timely reporting of its funding sources or massive expenses on mailers, paid online advertisements and emails that have flooded Sandy inboxes. Among their steady stream of inflammatory lies about the health of our local economy, they claim businesses in Sandy are failing in record numbers. This is absurd. They cite businesses that closed before and during COVID, long before Mayor Z was elected Mayor. The truth is, during the time Mayor Z has been mayor, Sandy has licensed a record number of new businesses, more than 750 last year alone - creating 1,600 jobs in 2024 and new businesses are on the uptick. At a recent report to the Sandy City Council, the business licensing clerk, who’s worked for the city over 30 years, reported a record 100 new business applications per month - a career high from this employee’s perspective.

The Sandy business community has never been stronger. Already in her first term in office, beyond record numbers of new businesses, low retail vacancies, Mayor Zoltanski has attracted landmark businesses such as the NHL Utah Mammoth and the NBA Utah Jazz to Sandy, positioning Sandy as the new sports-entertainment capital of Utah. Her pro-business outlook has resonated with the business community and residents alike, who enjoy the support from the city in easing the business licencing, permitting and support services with resources found here: https://sandybusinessconnect.com/ 

In 2025, U.S. News & World Report named Sandy #2 in Utah for the best economy, job market, property values, crime, and city services. Sandy is consistently ranked among top cities in the nation for quality of life, livability and economic vitality.

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False Claim | The Mayor Raised Her Own Pay

NOT TRUE!!

My opponent and her dark money PAC supporters claim I “raised my own salary.” That is FALSE and would be ILLEGAL. My pay increased when I went from part time city council member to full time mayor. Just like anyone who goes from part time to full time.  State law requires the Sandy City Council set the city budget and the city council policy set in 2018, well before I was elected to office, outlines how elected officials are compensated: 

ONLY Sandy City Council Members, not the mayor, approve the elected official compensation policy which has been in place the entire time I’ve been in office. At no time has even one city council member suggested the policy be amended. As part of the annual budget review, the city council sets the compensation rate increase for all Sandy employees, including the Mayor. The Mayor’s pay and the city council’s pay are adjusted annually according to the same formula as the average Sandy employee, no special privileges, no exceptions. 

I have never given myself a pay raise, nor could I do so legally. The mayor does not have the authority to raise or adjust her salary. 

All city salaries set by the Sandy City Council Members are public - published annually by the State Auditor of Utah at transparent.utah.gov and many people are surprised to learn that while I’m the CEO of the city, and where the “buck stops” I’m not the highest paid employee. Currently there are 11 positions higher paid than that of Mayor.

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False Claim | The Mayor Raised Taxes

NOT TRUE!

Only the city council, not the Mayor, has the power to set, raise or lower taxes. The entire time I’ve been in office - for four years as your Mayor and for two years on City Council before that - I’ve never voted to raise taxes.

My challenger falsely claims I’ve proposed or raised taxes every year. This is simply not true.

The City Council in 2023 voted to raise taxes once in my six years as an elected official in Sandy, approving a 15% increase on the Sandy portion of the tax bill (not the total tax bill) for an average cost of $47 per household ($3.91 a month), to stem critical losses in our public safety. This modest increase, approved by a strong majority of Sandy residents, went to hire 8 new firefighters to staff three firefighters on an engine, up from two.

This was a critical improvement necessary to stop the exodus of experienced fire personnel who were leaving Sandy in favor of other cities who offered better safety standards. We needed to catch up and this ongoing funding was essential to keeping our experienced personnel on staff in Sandy. It was becoming more expensive to replace the high turnover than it was to fund the needed new positions and firefighters needed ongoing commitment to know the new positions were secure from year to year. Then, just a few months later, Sandy voters overwhelmingly approved a self-imposed $21 million bond to build a new fire station, thereby stabilizing our fire services from a very rocky and insecure department in the past. 

At this time, even though our mid-career and experienced Sandy first responders were quitting in droves - signalling a deep need that was unmet, my opponent voted NO to ongoing funding for the firefighter positions. Sometimes there were multiple Sandy firefighter resignations per week – all because there was no funding for safe staffing levels. It is not an overstatment to say were were in the midst of a personnel crisis in Sandy, and the new hires and the new positions, better pay and career advancement my administration brought helped turn that around. Again, that one-year adjustment approved by the City Council but rejected by my opponent went to correct a staffing crisis and 100% of that adjustment went exactly where promised to first responders and improved safety for our residents.

That single Voter Approved Tax Adjustment — the only one since I have been in office — was for a staffing crisis. 

• 100% of the voter-approved funding went directly to first responders.

• Funds were used as a stop-gap measure to bring firefighters and police to safe staffing levels and reduce the costs of high turnover of first responders, which was costing the taxpayers even more.

• As your former Sandy City Prosecutor, I supported this public safety need that the Sandy City Council and Sandy voters both approved.  

• This is why Sandy Police and Sandy Firefighters have endorsed me in every election.

• As Mayor, I’ve fought to keep taxes low by prioritizing and building a pro-business economy. I’ve stimulated our Sandy economy with $1 Billion in private business investment in and around the Southtown Mall alone. 

• I’ve brought home over $35 million in outside funds from the federal, state, and county level to build our infrastructure for roads, bridges and recreation which has protected the Sandy taxpayer from unnecessary property tax increases.

• I fight the gondola to protect our resident who do not want it clogging our beautiful canyon only to serve private ski resorts and tourists.

• As a fiscal conservative, I work every day to keep taxes low and will continue this fight. You can count on me to uphold my fiscal responsibility to citizens!   

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False Claim | The Mayor Supports High Density Housing

NOT TRUE!

I was not hoping to be in elected office - I was encouraged by others after I fought as a private citizen to stop development in Sandy. I started public life as an advocate for Dimple Dell Park, saving $4.5 million of county tax dollars that was slated to pave miles trails in the nature preserve. This was a project park users didn’t ask for and didn’t want, but would have been constructed had I not led the citizen campaign to Keep Dimple Dell Wild.

I have a long, well known record of opposing high density development in single family residential neighborhoods. My challenger has voted for high density multiple times, including approval of rezoning of agriculture property for high density housing rentals at Farnsworth Farms on 700 East and 11200 South. I voted against this when I was on the city council. Cyndi Sharkey voted for it. The developers who brought it to the city promised it would be for sale to owners, then immediately put it all up for rent - 10 units per acre from a former apple orchard. Those same developers are backing the Cyndi Sharkey campaign with donations.

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False Claim | The Mayor Wants Only Her Neighborhood Zoned For Low Density

NOT TRUE!

Sandy City Council reviews and approves all zoning.

• I live in a neighborhood that has been zoned agricultural since the 1960s before I was born. This is unchanged.

• I, like every Sandy resident, live in a neighborhood where zoning is governed by the Sandy City Council members. 

• Any and all zoning changes in my neighborhood are consistent with zoning rules set by the Sandy City Council.

The Mayor cannot change zoning in my neighborhood or any other neighborhood. City Council does that.

Click here to see the process

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As the election nears, the claims get more desperate and inflammatory, now blaming me for federal, state and county taxes. Don’t take the bait, learn the truth. Reach out to me directly.

Please contact me through this website or call me directly at 801-742-1733 to separate the facts from the noise. 

It’s been the honor of my lifetime to serve as Sandy Mayor. We are seeing incredible momentum from my first term in office, having built the new fire station, the new fleet mechanic’s garage, new bridges in Willowcreek, a new urban wetland for wildlife, completed our 50-year general plan update the Sandy Pace of Progress which sets predictable and fair guideposts for residents and developers alike. We have landed incredible investments from professional sports team owner groups and our small business community is thriving as well. 

There’s nothing we can’t do when we work together! I’m proud of my campaign focused on people, progress, and positivity. We’re just getting started! 

Let’s go, Sandy! Get your ballots into the county drop boxes or vote in person and the Sandy Library on election day Nobember 4th. Here’s to Four More Years of vision, integrity, and citizen-centered leadership in Sandy.

Vote Monica Z!