Pastor urges Hampton Township Council to exempt churches from stormwater management fee

The Rev. Ted Martin, a senior pastor at Hampton Presbyterian, called on Hampton Township Council during its Jan. 11 meeting to exempt churches from having to pay a stormwater management fee.

Citing the right to the free exercise of religion in the First Amendment, Martin said the fee creates a “dangerous precedent” in the relationship between the church and state. In the United States, churches are typically exempt from paying taxes.

“Our dispute is not with the program and ultimately is not even about the fee,” Martin said. “Our concern is centered around a dangerous precedent that is obscuring the relationship of respect and value nurtured over the centuries between government and the church, which was codified in the Bill of Rights and subsequently into the tax law nearly 100 years ago.”

Martin urged council to allow churches to spend money “as it sees fit to promote the health, goodness and importance of community.” He brought up philanthropic efforts on which Hampton Presbyterian spent money or time, including supporting a homeless shelter and providing ministry for refugees from Somalia.

He also said five churches in Hampton offer their buildings “without expectation of compensation nor reimbursement” for polling places.

Initially, council members didn’t address Martin’s speech. After an audience member asked at the end of the meeting whether they were going to take action on the issue, Carolynn Johnson, council president, said they already decided that the stormwater management fee is a utility fee and there are no exemptions.

“That has been our position since that fee was implemented,” she said.

The fee amounts to $9.58 per month, or $115 annually for a single family residential property, according to the township’s website. Non-residential customers pay per “Equivalent Residential Unit,” which equals 3,300 square feet. The website says the fee is “low because all properties pay, and the total is enough to make real investment that will make a difference.”

Council also talked about the purchase of a new restroom at the Hampton Community Park. Christopher Lochner, municipal manager, said it might be installed as early as April.

He added that the budget for the project is around $300,000, and he anticipates possibly another $30,000 or $40,000 for concrete flooring and plumbing work.

Council will discuss the purchase further along with other items at its Jan. 25 meeting.