Texas Church Reaches Property Tax Settlement

The Fort Worth, Texas Star-Telegram reported yesterday that a 20-year dispute between New Mount Calvary Baptist Church and Texas county tax authorities was finally about to be settled. At issue has been the taxation of a vacant portion of the property on which the church's building sits. The church's leader, Rev. Tom Franklin, has paid $200 toward the church's $33,000 delinquent property tax bill and has agreed to pay at least $50 a month until the amount owed is paid off, said Tarrant County Tax Assessor-Collector Betsy Price. Franklin and other African-American ministers have argued that poor, black churches are not treated as well as wealthier churches with mostly white congregations.