Canyon Lake Voters Reject Measure E, Proposed Public Safety Sales Tax

CANYON LAKE, CA — The proposed 1% sales tax in Canyon Lake intended to generate revenue expressly for supporting public safety services in the gated municipality has been rejected, according to updated returns released Wednesday.

Measure E trailed 54.48%-45.52%, the Riverside County Office of the Registrar of Voters announced late Wednesday afternoon.

Subscribe

Roughly 465,000 vote-by-mail and conditional use ballots remain unprocessed countywide, registrar's staff said.

"Measure E would create a separate Canyon Lake Public Safety Fund," according to a statement posted in election documents. "All revenues from the new tax would be deposited into the Public Safety Fund and could not be commingled with the city's General Fund."

The tax would equal a 1 cent payment for each dollar spent on goods and services purchased throughout the community. Rents, medical and dental services and "unprocessed groceries" would be exempt from the transactions and use tax, which was placed on the ballot by a signature-gathering drive, meaning that only a simply majority was required for passage.

Canyon Lake has ended contracts with Riverside County for public safety services.

In 2022, the city formally ended its contract with the county — and therefore Cal Fire — in connection with all fire protection services, establishing a stand-alone department. The effort followed litigation after the Canyon Lake City Council refused to authorize payment on what the county contended were millions of dollars in back payments owed for the availability of fire services.

City attorneys argued the remittances were unjustified and unaffordable.

The matter was ultimately resolved, and Cal Fire now continues to provide mutual aid support to the city, while Canyon Lake Fire Department personnel sometimes respond to assist the county.

In August, the city also formally established a stand-alone police department, ending its long-standing contract with the county Sheriff's Department for law enforcement services.

Measure E aimed to generate an estimated $1.14 million annually, strictly to cover public safety-related needs.