The slides above are from the series of Public Safety & City Services Town Hall Meetings.

I’ve had the pleasure of meeting many Upland residents over the last several months, asking people what their priorities are, and working on ways to bring those priorities to life. One question I’ve heard several times is “How much of my Upland property taxes go to Upland services?” It’s a great question and the information can be difficult to find. As you can see in the graphic, the majority of the funding goes to the State & County. For more information about San Bernardino County property taxes, check out the County website at https://www.mytaxcollector.com

On August 22, 2022, at the Special City Council Workshop to discuss Measure L spending priorities, the above slides were presented to City Council for public discussion. You can read about this meeting, or even view it and the the previous meetings on this topic, as well as read more about Measure L at https://www.uplandca.gov/2022-ballot-measure. I ask that all Upland residents participate in the November 8 election.

In these challenging times, the City of Upland is committed to keeping our community a safe and healthy place to live, work, and raise a family. The City of Upland recently conducted a survey of Upland residents to help City Officials understand which of the key concerns identified in previous surveys are considered the highest priority, and to give more residents a chance to participate. While the survey received 1,167 starts, 994 completed responses were submitted and analyzed. Survey results will be used to help guide budget decisions in the City of Upland.

The survey consisted of a question asking respondents to rank priorities which were identified as top concerns in previous surveys, and also an open-answer portion where respondents could write in their own priorities.

Respondents most commonly placed “providing quick responses to 9-1-1 emergencies” as their top priority, followed very closely by “maintaining local streets and alleys and repairing potholes.”

The open-answer question “What priorities would you like to see funded that are not listed here?” received nearly 500 responses. A large majority of responses listed priorities already included in the closed-ended questions, suggesting that many residents utilized the open-ended question to emphasize the importance of certain issues, rather than suggest new priorities. An analysis of resident responses identified the following most common themes: road, sidewalk, and bike path improvements; trees & park maintenance; police, crime and code enforcement; clean public spaces; homelessness; and downtown improvements.

As we move forward in an unfamiliar financial landscape, we all agree that there are services that only cities can provide which are extremely important to our way of life. As we near the end of the federal funding that the City has used to bolster our budget and keep each of these services at acceptable levels, it’s important for us to know which services Upland taxpayers consider their highest priority.

We would like to thank all residents who participated in providing this important feedback to the City. To view the full report on the survey results and other supporting documents, please visit the webpage below. The survey results are near the bottom of the page. 

Click here to View the Maintaining Upland page.

The City Council approved the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Investment Plan at the regular Council Meeting on October 11, 2021. You may view the PowerPoint presentation below. You may also view the staff report and PowerPoint presentation within the October 11, 2021 City Council packet here.