The Argument in favor of Measure L, written by Upland Treasurer Greg Bradley, Upland Parks Committee Member Sarah Lee, Upland resident James Thomas, retired Upland Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Loren Sanchez and retired Los Angeles County Deputy Sheriff Susan Higgins Coniglio, states:
For local control and quality of life, vote yes on L!
Yes on L keeps Upland Safe.
Yes on L Fixes Upland’s streets & potholes.
All money stays in Upland.
Yes on L keeps our taxpayer dollars local – keeping Upland safe and clean, and our property values high.
We all want to keep Upland a special place to live, but we need funding that the State cannot take to keep our city well-maintained.Without the local funding Measure L will provide, Upland will be forced to cut vital public safety services.
Today, Upland cannot afford to maintain basic local services like local street, alley, or pothole repair, clean up piles of trash and litter that people dump along streets and sidewalks, maintain our parks, or address homelessness.
Unless we keep our taxpayer dollars local, Upland will have no choice but to further cut vital street, storm drain, waterway, and sidewalk repairs, costing we taxpayers millions as repairs cost more in the future.
Yes on L keeps Upland Safe.
Did you know we have fewer police officers today than we did 30 years ago? Meanwhile our population and the number of 911 emergency calls continue to grow.
Your yes on L vote protects neighborhood police patrols, crime investigations, and gang and drug prevention programs, making sure we have enough police officers on duty to respond quickly to 911 emergency calls and save lives.
Yes on L is fiscally accountable: It includes independent citizens oversight, public disclosure on how all funds are spent, and annual independent audits.
All Measure L funds are required by law to remain local for our needs.
Protect our safety, neighborhoods and community! Join Upland public safety, local business and neighborhood leaders in voting yes on L!

The Rebuttal To The Argument In Favor Of Measure L written by former Upland Councilman Glenn Bozar and former Upland Treasurer Larry Kinley
Vote no on Measure L!
Residents cannot afford to have a new sales tax increase imposed by the city!
We both have witnessed while serving as your city councilmember and as your city treasurer serious municipal mismanagement in Upland.
The 2020 Grand Jury Report documented how the city interfered with my duties and responsibilities as your city treasurer. I resigned. The grand jury report documented serious problems and noted “The San Bernardino County Civil Grand Jury is aware that there potentially may be criminal activity associated with these actions that are not within the jurisdiction of the Civil Grand Jury.” Interestingly, no criminal actions were filed.
Mismanagement should not be rewarded by raising sales taxes! The new city manager and city council should conduct community meetings to discuss the prior resident taskforce recommendations to significantly reduce costs while maintaining good service levels.
One of the cost-saving options recommended by the resident taskforce was outsourcing the police department to the county sheriff. There is a potential $10 million annual savings opportunity. This city council must allow an open, honest and transparent discussion of this cost-saving opportunity.
Our neighbors in Rancho Cucamonga and Chino Hills use the county sheriff police services and are two of the safest cities in California. Upland’s transition from having its own fire department transferred to county fire was a seamless transition to residents.
You deserve to know about a $10 million cost savings opportunity before allowing the city to increase the sales tax. Vote no.

The Argument Against Measure L, written by former Councilman Glenn Bozar and former City Treasurer Larry Kinley, states:
With record high inflation and gasoline prices, hardworking families and senior citizens living on fixed incomes cannot afford a city-imposed sales tax increase. The Federal Reserve chairman recently said grocery shoppers find their budgets no longer cover their usual shopping list. Inflationary cost of living increases have forced people to cut back spending. Residents struggle to make ends meet to pay their bills.
According to economists, we are heading into a recession of unknown severity or duration. Yet a tone-deaf city council approved the sales tax increase ballot initiative. Now is not the time to raise taxes. Vote no.
The recently approved police department budget has increased 57.7% over the last decade and budgeted staffing levels increased from 104 to 115, excluding animal control staffing. The overwhelming majority of 911 emergency calls are for medical assistance handled by AMR Ambulance Service and the fire department – not the police department.
Over the last 22 years the city has been through various budget shortfalls and budget cuts. During that time, resident-driven financial workout plans and workshops forced city councils that represent you to take actions to improve operating efficiencies and reduce costs. Outsourcing the fire department to the county worked out well. Other recommendations were never considered by the current city manager or city council. There are still options to reduce costs. The city has remained solvent and will continue to do so.
Now residents are struggling to figure out how to pay their monthly living expenses during record inflation, high gas prices, costly groceries, increased electricity costs, increased water rates, trash rates, in a looming recession and economic uncertainty. Now is not the time for the city to increase sales taxes. Vote no on Measure L!

The Rebuttal to Argument Against Measure L, written by local business leader Jason Gaudy, Upland Treasurer Greg Bradley, Upland Parks Committee Member Sarah Lee, Upland resident James Thomas and retired Upland Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Loren Sanchez, states:
Don’t believe politically motivated rhetoric.
We need Yes on L to keep our neighborhoods safe, and streets and sidewalks repaired – so we can reach you in an emergency, when seconds count.
Here’s what Measure L won’t do:
Measure L is not a tax on your home or property.
Measure L is not applied to food purchased as groceries or prescription medication.
Fact: Upland services have been slashed to the bone and cannot be cut further without impacting the services you expect and deserve.
Fact: Without Measure L, we won’t be able to keep the number of police officers patrolling our neighborhoods.
Fact: Your Yes on L vote is the only thing that will allow current sidewalk repair programs to continue.
Unless we act, Upland will have to cut police officers on top of 14 unfilled police positions, making our neighborhoods less safe.
Without Measure L, our streets, sidewalks, trees, parks, and storm drains will worsen, affecting your cars and all our wallets as we must pay more to repair in the future.
Measure L, will allow us to address the basic quality of life services we all need: cleaning up trash on our streets, ensuring crime investigation, gang and drug police units can continue their critical work, maintaining our parks, and ensuring our streets and public spaces are safe and secure for everyone.
Talk is cheap – we must act to improve Upland!
Join safety, business and community leaders in voting yes on L.
Get the facts, visit uplandca.gov