Stafford Leaders Want No More Churches

[Xmuzik]

http://www.click2houston.com/family/9464577/detail.html

STAFFORD, Texas -- The leaders of a small Texas town are hoping to put out the "no vacancy" sign for religious organizations hoping to build there, KPRC Local 2 reported Monday.

There are more than 50 churches in Stafford, a community of 15,000 people southwest of Houston.

City leaders said it's not a religious freedom issue, but rather a question of how to pay for city services in a town that does not have a lot of choices.

City Councilman Cecil Willis recently proposed that Stafford ban construction of new churches within city limits.

"It's not politically correct," he said.

Stafford's mayor agreed.

"They haven't run me out of town on the rail or anything," Mayor Leonard Scarcella said.

The problem is that Stafford does not have a property tax, so it is totally dependent on sales taxes and business fees to fund city services.

With just 8 square miles of land, it already has 51 churches -- all nonprofits.

"They pay no fees for the firetruck, for the police car, for patching the road, or any other operation of this city," Willis said.

Willis and the mayor said they want to preserve the land that's left for commercial development.

But, so far, the proposal is not getting much traction with voters.

"That's God's work. That's his kingdom and he said, he build, he prospers, so I don't know what the mayor's talking about. You don't mess with God's work," resident Lillie Marie Oliver said.

"This country was founded on religion and that's very important," resident Shay Horton said.

On June 21, the Living Water Christian Church asked council for a building permit and got it.

The vote was 6-1, with Willis opposing.

But Willis and the mayor said that trend can't continue.

"It might force us to possibly go back to a property tax," Scarcella said.

The mayor said that a property tax would be his last choice. Stafford ended the property tax in 1995.

The mayor and Willis said another problem is that a lot of the churches are not local and are drawing their congregations from outside the city.

Scarcella said he approved letting the Living Water Christian Church build in Stafford because it would have a local congregation.

[PETA]

Originally Posted by Xmuzik

"They pay no fees for the firetruck, for the police car, for patching the road, or any other operation of this city," Willis said.

............

The mayor said that a property tax would be his last choice. Stafford ended the property tax in 1995.

lol - they exempt the number one industry in the town from property taxes and didn't see a probelm?

Texas is a strange place Toto

[Zeonfiend]

What? God doesn't use roads? Tax these fools!

[kalamu]

i think they should ban all new churches in this country period, there are way too many of them to begin with.

fuckit, just ban all christians from living here... let's exterminate!

[PETA]

Originally Posted by Zeonfiend

What? God doesn't use roads? Tax these fools!

well - God - he probably doesn't have much need for them. Everybody else? Well, they pretty much to have a need for them. Wonder what the propoerty tax assessments for everybody else in the town is going to be like when they need a new sewer system or blah blah blah.... lol

[kalamu]

all they'd have to do is pass a collection plate around the church for a couple sundays and the idiots who throw their money away in there will probably pay for a couple new sewer systems

[PETA]

Originally Posted by kalamu

all they'd have to do is pass a collection plate around the church for a couple sundays and the idiots who throw their money away in there will probably pay for a couple new sewer systems

um - those cost millions...


here's an article on a town of 655 residents who are having a hard time stomaching the cost of a new sewer system at $11.5M

http://www.mlui.org/growthmanagement...p?fileid=17031

or roughly $230k/church

[kalamu]

i didn't want to think about it too much, i just wanted to make a snide remark about christians.

and lol @ you thinking i'm going to read some link you post. maybe if i could find a review that a liberal wrote about the content on that link i might post that... but i'm sure as hell not going to actually read it myself.

[PETA]

Originally Posted by kalamu

i didn't want to think about it too much, i just wanted to make a snide remark about christians.

and so you have

[kalamu]

you want me to make some more?

[PETA]

Originally Posted by kalamu

you want me to make some more?

not particularly but if it pleases you to be snide to Christians - by all means - knock yourself out

[kalamu]

it just baffles me how you can believe in a god that you cannot see and cannot ever prove exists and yet when people talk about the government doing secret things that are fucking over the country then it's just tin foil hat time. you require proof and evidence on all kinds of things and yet not when it comes to religion. religious lawyers make me want to gouge someone's eyes out.

[PETA]

Originally Posted by kalamu

it just baffles me how you can believe in a god...

I know it baffles you. Far from being shocked, this is merely another item on a very long list.

[kalamu]

ohhhh zing. very nice turning that around on me like that.

and with that i think i'll call it a night. i've had my fun.

[Satchel]

I don't see why churches shouldn't pay taxes anyway.