Letters: Measure S

Editor, The Friday Flyer

In 2014, Measure DD was voted on as a temporary stop gap to allow the city to come up with a plan to reinstate Station 60 within Canyon Lake. The original Measure failed twice and only passed after the rules were changed to allow a greater than 50 percent vote to pass it. It was incredibly close.

Now we are being asked, using fear as the reason, to extend this added tax measure. No effort has been made to formulate a plan that was promised when it was approved in 2014. We are told that without it, we face a life of diminished fire or police protection.

Why is it every other city in California uses it’s property taxes to pay for fire and police protection?  Why is it that we never question paying over $2 million for guards that do little more than check for decals and passes? Why is it, we are not given the statistics for how many calls Station 60 has actually received?

What is going to happen when the waiver for the third person for Station 60 expires? Why was $40,000 dollars spent on favorable mailers for Measure S instead of just providing information for us? Where are the statistics for the other three local fire stations that are geographically located to be able serve each of the three Canyon Lake gates.

All of this information would be useful to make an informed and intelligent choice.  Instead we are told how no or delayed protection will be our future if we do not agree to pay this additional tax for another four years.

This is a continuing additional tax, which makes me question the statement that our city council is so proud of stating unanimously, “without raising tax rates!”

Chuck Jepson