Crime & Safety

Lake Elsinore To Canyon Lake: 'We Won't Subsidize You'

"Station #60 needs to remain open – period," Lake Elsinore Mayor Bob Magee said. "They [Canyon Lake] need to find a wa

Lake Elsinore City Council wants to make it very clear that it will not subsidize Canyon Lake’s fire services without a return gesture.

During Tuesday night’s Lake Elsinore City Council meeting, Mayor Pro Tem Natasha Johnson requested her colleagues’ support in sending a memorandum of understanding to Canyon Lake officials. The letter, she said, should strongly state that Lake Elsinore will not help pay for Canyon Lake’s fire services unless that city pitches in its fair share.

Canyon Lake has suffered financial woes in recent years and is now considering closing down its only fire station in an effort to save money. Canyon Lake officials contend the only way to keep its station #60 open is to ask its residents to pay a special tax for maintaining the station and its crew.

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A special tax requires voter approval, so for now the city is keeping station #60 open. But Canyon Lake officials have promised the facility will be shuttered if the tax doesn’t get passed in November.

Lake Elsinore sees that as an affront. With the station open, Canyon Lake is helping tow the line for fire protection services in Southwest Riverside County.

Find out what's happening in Lake Elsinore-Wildomarwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Canyon Lake, like Lake Elsinore and many other cities across Riverside County, contracts for fire services with Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department. The stations across the area coordinate firefighting efforts, and cities fund stations within their boundaries.

Johnson made the suggestion about a memorandum of understanding to her colleagues during a budget discussion Tuesday night. Click here for more on that story.

The City of Canyon Lake, with its lack of sales tax and development fees revenues, relies heavily on property tax revenue to stay afloat.

What irks Lake Elsinore officials is that its fire stations are servicing Canyon Lake without any reciprocation. If station #60 closes, Lake Elsinore argues it will have to pick up even more slack.

Johnson said that's not fair to Lake Elsinore taxpayers.

Lake Elsinore’s largest expenditures are police and fire services.

“Station #60 needs to remain open – period,” Lake Elsinore Mayor Bob Magee said. “They [Canyon Lake] need to find a way.”

All five Lake Elsinore council members agreed to sign a yet-to-be drafted memorandum to Canyon Lake. Johnson also requested that Lake Elsinore City Manager Grant Yates sign the letter as well.


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