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Grand Forks Pastors' Group: We oppose
casino
In other words, every dollar coming into the
city from the casino will come
from someone else's misfortunes.
We are forfeiting sales tax and real estate tax receipts for casino revenue funded by people's losses, and then paying higher social costs also. The primary functions of a city are to provide basic safety needs (such as police and fire) and basic utility needs (such as water and sewer). A city's secondary functions include economic development and creating an environment for growth. It is important for the city to be involved in secondary functions, but never at the expense of the primary functions. Posted on Mon, Feb. 27, 2006 VIEWPOINT : GF pastors' group: We oppose casino By Joe Scheving GRAND FORKS - It is with unity and great passion for our community that the Evangelical Pastors Fellowship publicly objects to the building and operating of a casino within the City of Grand Forks. During a Nov. 8, 2004, address to the mayor and City Council, Bill Johnson - consultant for the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa - said that a casino partnership should be developed with Grand Forks to "create jobs, increase city government revenues, develop a first-class hospitality environment, promote tourism, stimulate economics, reduce tribal poverty and rekindle tribal self-esteem and pride." Below are some of the reasons we believe that a casino would be detrimental to our city. Our fellowship EPF supports an honest moral and social environment in Grand Forks. As Mayor Mike Brown said in his March 9, 2005 State of the City address, "Grand Forks is a good place to raise a family." This was confirmed when the city recently won recognition as one of the nation's "Top 100" places for young people. The city got this honor for its commitment to providing a healthy, safe, and caring environment for young people. As the mayor said in the same address, crime in Grand Forks decreased in 2004 by 4 percent in 2004 - a clear buck against national trends. We pride ourselves on our community. Yet, all of these wonderful attribute would be threatened by the building and operating of a casino in Grand Forks. Studies prove that wherever a casino is built, there are severe moral and social repercussions: bankruptcies, suicides, divorces, child abuse, domestic violence and crime rates all increase. In fact, Central City, Colo., experienced a six-fold rise in child protection cases the year after casinos arrived. A women's center in Mississippi has received, on average, 400 more crisis calls a month since gambling arrived there. Bankruptcy rates are 100 percent higher in counties with casinos than those without. The fellowship also supports a sound financial plan for Grand Forks. Again, the mayor was able to trumpet the city's financial success in his March 9 address. For Grand Forks to achieve and maintain this reputation despite the effects of the flood is outstanding. But now, there's a temptation to improve the city's financial condition (and ease high property taxes) with revenue from a casino. But once again, the repercussions are staggering. For every dollar that the community gets from the casino, that same community has to spend $3 for more law enforcement, court time, jail space, medical treatment and counseling. Non-profit entities such as United Way clearly will be asked to do more with less because their funding will diminish as the disposable income of our community goes into the casino. A casino in Grand Forks will not support or enhance existing businesses, but cannibalize them by drawing off those businesses' customer support to the casino. Likewise, the casino will also be a deterrent for new businesses. Proponents also say a casino will improve tourism. But studies show that 90 percent of all casino revenues comes from the population base within 50 miles of the casino. These are our friends and neighbors, who are making $6, to $10 an hour, some of whom can barely pay rent or put food on the table. This includes our college students. In other words, every dollar coming into the city from the casino will come from someone else's misfortunes. We are forfeiting sales tax and real estate tax receipts for casino revenue funded by people's losses, and then paying higher social costs also. The primary functions of a city are to provide basic safety needs (such as police and fire) and basic utility needs (such as water and sewer). A city's secondary functions include economic development and creating an environment for growth. It is important for the city to be involved in secondary functions, but never at the expense of the primary functions. We believe that building and operating a casino will be at the expense of one of the City's primary functions: providing basic safety needs as expressed above. There has been an almost deafening silence on a topic that should be creating tremendous discussion. The casino's proponents create a perceived "smoke screen" when they say, "Nobody has to worry. This project is far from coming to fruition." Likewise, city leaders tell us, "The data still is too incomplete to make a formal decision on the casino." Nevertheless, Mayor Brown publicly cast his support for a casino in March 2005. In another step, city leaders signed a resolution encouraging the Tribal Mountain band to pursue all avenues to make this casino venture a reality. The message from the pastors and churches in the Evangelical Pastors Fellowship of Grand Forks is plain: We do not support a casino in Grand Forks, and we ask that the mayor and council publicly share our stance on the subject. We would like to thank council members Elliot Glassheim and Dorette Kerian for speaking for their constituents (and the welfare of the city) regarding the casino issue. We want our voices to be heard loud and clear and will express them at the next election. Scheving is pastor of Faith Community Church and president of the Evangelical Pastors Fellowship. He signed this letter on behalf of the fellowship, which includes the leaders of the following Grand Cities institutions: Baseview Assembly of God Hosanna Lutheran Church Calvary Community Church Living Word Family Church Christ the King Free Lutheran New Life Foursquare Christian Bookshelf Redeeming Love Community Cottonwood Community Church River of Hope Faith Community Church Riverside Christian School First Assembly of God Salvation Army First Church of God Trinity Lutheran Gospel Outreach Ministries Valley Christian Center Hope Evangelical Covenant http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/grandforks/news/opinion/13970802.htm |
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