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Although the city has met its operational budget through these difficult years, our financial safety net and budget reserves disappeared in doing so, putting Upland in a financial crisis. In early 2014, various members of the community were called upon and agreed to serve on a fiscal Task Force of business and community leaders to determine and evaluate ways to restore a solid financial footing now, and keep Upland fiscally viable into the future. Working closely with the information and advice of then-City Manager Stephen Dunn and other staff members, the consensus of the Task Force identified 47 short-term and long-term actions that we believe are essential if the city is to restore a fiscally responsible footing based on actual and continuing income and expenses.
In the months since presenting these recommendations to the City Council, the immediate fiscal crisis has been averted due to the reimbursement of $5 Million in legal fees by the city’s insurance carrier, and the anticipation of an additional award for financial harm to the city as a result of the insurance company’s failure to defend the city. This one-time infusion of cash may do well to restore the $10 Million deficit of the reserve funds, but without the savings and additional revenue implementation of a majority of these recommendations, Upland future will be faced with the same dire financial situation we currently avoided. No enterprise can sustain itself by continuing to rely on one-time infusion of cash.
As members of the Task Force, we appreciated the many budget recommendations brought forward by Mr. Dunn, and applauded his leadership. As Upland citizens and/or business owners we appreciate the support Council Members Gino Filippi and Debbie Stone have voiced in pursuit of bringing these recommendations forward.
We urge Upland voters to join us supporting Filippi, Stone, and Dunn in the November 2014 Upland City Council election.
Task Force Committee Members:
Richard G. Anderson
Eric Hanson
Stephen G. Larson
Randall Lewis
Martin Thouvenell
