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Upland council adopts biennial budget, pauses park-lease allocations and delays council discretionary allotments
Summary
The Upland City Council approved the FY 2026—27 to 2027—27 biennial budget, including staff reclassifications and new utility and public-works positions; council also approved a two-year pause on park-lease revenue designated for local parks and amended the council discretionary allocation, moving that money back to general reserves for now.
The Upland City Council on June 8 adopted its biannual budget for FY 2026—27 and FY 2027—28 after a multi-hour presentation and discussion on funding priorities, staffing shortages and the city's fiscal outlook.
Finance staff reported a projected general-fund deficit of roughly $5.8 million in fiscal year 2027 and about $6.2 million in fiscal year 2028, driven by declining sales tax revenues, rising personnel costs and sharp increases in insurance premiums. Stacy Sullivan, finance manager, walked the council through proposed adjustments including reclassifications, unfreezing select positions and limited use of trust funds, while emphasizing the city's aim to stabilize pension and reserve policies.
"When we finished putting together our budget, the deficit was approximately $5.8 million for fiscal year 27 and $6.2 million for fiscal year 28," Sullivan said. Staff proposed targeted hiring in utilities and public works to address long-standing vacancies and to support capital project delivery identified in newly completed master plans.
Council debate centered on two politically sensitive budget choices: a two-year pause on directing park-lease revenue to district parks (estimated at about $400,000 per year) and a proposed $25,000-per-member discretionary allocation for council use. Some council members objected to diverting park-designated money while the city faces a general-fund shortfall; others said a temporary pause was necessary to stabilize core services.
Council agreed to amend the budget, postponing the $25,000 discretionary allocation and placing the park-lease revenue pause into the adopted package. The amendments were offered as part of a single motion to adopt the package of budget-related resolutions, which passed unanimously.
Budget actions also included modest reclassifications, adding several public-works and utility positions intended to move the utilities operation from reactive maintenance toward a proactive program. Staff said they recently filled five utility vacancies and expect additional hires from recruitment efforts; they noted the utilities group is about 47% below staffing benchmarks used for peer comparisons.
Several council members pressed for clearer accountability metrics tied to the new hires and for transparency about the use of one-time funds. Staff said the budget package includes reserve-category clarifications (capital, operating and rate stabilization) and a plan to use a mix of reserves and revenue to avoid short-term rate shocks.
The council adopted the biennial budget and related resolutions and directed staff to return with implementation details and recruitment timelines. The council also set the next regular meeting for June 22, 2026.
