His Council Colleagues Reject Bozar’s Early Effort To Block Upland Water Division Sale

(March 26)  Upland City Councilman Glen Bozar’s effort to remove the sale of his city’s water division as a revenue-generating option for cash-strapped Upland was rejected by his council colleagues this week.
At the  Monday, March 24 Upland City Council Meeting, the council was presented with an agenda item to schedule its deliberation with regard to 47 options recommended to it by a fiscal response task force the council created in October. Those potential moves to assist the city in turning around anticipated general fund deficits of between $7 million and $8 million in the 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17 fiscal years include ideas for cutting costs or generating new revenue. Among the cost cutting suggestions are seeking concessions from city employees on salary and benefits, combining fire and police dispatch services, outsourcing engineering services, outsourcing street maintenance, outsourcing fleet maintenance and curtailing the level of service at the city animal shelter.
Revenue producing options include imposing a citywide sales tax or either selling off the city’s water assets or entering into a management arrangement with a private company that allows that company to lease the city’s water utility to operate and manage it and capture a profit from doing so.
Bozar, referencing escalations in the price of water paid by consumers that occurred after the cities of Claremont and Rialto either sold or leased their water assets, requested that the council remove the sale of its water division from the list of money generating options to be discussed in the future.
None of Bozar’s colleagues – Mayor Ray Musser, councilmen Brendan Brandt and Gino Filippi and councilwoman Debby Stone  – seconded his motion, making clear that they intend to consider the sale or lease of the water division when the task force’s suggestions are considered over the next two months.

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