City of Upland

The City of Upland’s revenue grew at a flat rate of 1.5% from FY 2013/14 through FY 2017/18, which equates to an average annual growth rate of .3%.

The City of Upland’s expenditures increased 18.2% from FY 2013/14 through FY 2017/18, which equates to an average annual growth rate of 3.64%.

The City of Upland’s annual payments for retiree pension payments from FY 2017/18 – FY 2027/28 are projected to grow at an average annual mean rate of 7.47%, in plain terms from $8,963,000 in FY 2017/18 to $15,661,000 in FY 2027/28.

Based upon the San Bernardino County contracted audit team and two Grand Jury interviews withthe City of Upland’s management determined that the City of Upland does not have a formal plan in place to fund future payments to the employee pension plan. /// /// /// 16 2018–2019 San Bernardino County Civil Grand Jury – City of Upland RECOMMENDATIONS 19-10: The City of Upland must develop a formal course of action to reduce their unfunded pension liability and develop a formal plan that funds future pension contributions. Increasing revenue would be from a conceptual perspective the best solution. However, increasing revenue is not an easy task. Decreasing retiree plan cost should also be considered via extending retirement dates and pension annuity payout percent. A third alternative would be to establish an escrow type account that immediately set aside funds annually that can be used to adjunct future retiree pension payments. The plan must include assumptions on how a recession and other economic conditions will affect the plan. The Grand Jury understands that the pension payment projections are just projections. Irrespective of any projection change, this does not diminish the urgency to develop a formal plan to correct the unfunded pension liability issue. AGENCY RECOMMENDATIONS DUE DATE City of Upland 19-10 8/27/2019 17 2018–2019 San Bernardino County Civil Grand Jury – City of Upland