Churches may put Texas town out of business

HOUSTON — City officials in Houston-area Stafford, Texas, say their town of 19,000 people simply can’t afford for any more churches to move in.

Stafford is the largest city in Texas without a property tax, so it depends on sales taxes and business fees for revenue, according to a report by the Los Angeles Times July 31. But since the town has 51 churches and other religious institutions within its 7 square miles, too many tax-exempt groups are hurting the economy.

“We respect the Constitution, but 51 of anything is too much,” Leonard Scarcella, the town’s mayor, said.

Stafford has religious facilities for Buddhists, Muslims, Chinese Baptists, Filipino Baptists, Spanish-speaking Baptists and “every other variety of Christian you can imagine,” Scarcella told the Times. In fact, one-quarter-mile section of the city is home to 17 churches.

A city council member told the Times that most people who attend the churches don’t even live in Stafford but drive from Houston and other places. The city recently passed an ordinance making it much more difficult for churches to build in the area, hoping that will stem the tide of growth.

(TAB)