City Council discusses whether churches can sell fireworks
By DEENA WINTER / Lincoln Journal Star
It wasn’t your everyday topic at the City Council: Should churches be allowed to sell fireworks on their property without getting a special permit?Churches can raise money by selling things like Christmas trees, Easter lilies and fireworks on their property, but must get a special permit from the planning commission if they’re in a residential or office district.The city planning department has proposed a zoning ordinance change that would no longer require churches and religious groups to go through that rigmarole.
The request was made by jail chaplain Randy Bartelt to raise money for his ministry through fireworks sales.Other churches have also inquired about selling fireworks, and the planning department recommended the change to simplify the process.Nobody testified against the proposal at either the planning commission or City Council, but the seemingly innocuous agenda item raised a question at the council on Monday: Do they charge sales taxes on those fireworks?Because if you’re buying $200 in fireworks, that might just determine where you buy them.Councilman Adam Hornung said he wouldn’t want to put other fireworks tents at a competitive disadvantage. Councilwoman Jayne Snyder also expressed interest in the tax issue, since churches are nonprofits.Chief Assistant City Attorney Rick Peo gently urged the council to stick to the land use question, rather than who would be operating the fireworks tents.“You have to treat churches the same as other nonprofits,” he said.But council members still seemed interested in delving deeper into the issue.They asked for clarification on the tax issue from the state Department of Revenue, and learned religious organizations can have one sale per year for up to three consecutive days without collecting sales tax.Bartelt had asked the council to vote on the issue Monday rather than wait a week — the Fourth of July is fast approaching — as is required for ordinance changes. But the council declined to do that, and will vote next Monday.
The request was made by jail chaplain Randy Bartelt to raise money for his ministry through fireworks sales.Other churches have also inquired about selling fireworks, and the planning department recommended the change to simplify the process.Nobody testified against the proposal at either the planning commission or City Council, but the seemingly innocuous agenda item raised a question at the council on Monday: Do they charge sales taxes on those fireworks?Because if you’re buying $200 in fireworks, that might just determine where you buy them.Councilman Adam Hornung said he wouldn’t want to put other fireworks tents at a competitive disadvantage. Councilwoman Jayne Snyder also expressed interest in the tax issue, since churches are nonprofits.Chief Assistant City Attorney Rick Peo gently urged the council to stick to the land use question, rather than who would be operating the fireworks tents.“You have to treat churches the same as other nonprofits,” he said.But council members still seemed interested in delving deeper into the issue.They asked for clarification on the tax issue from the state Department of Revenue, and learned religious organizations can have one sale per year for up to three consecutive days without collecting sales tax.Bartelt had asked the council to vote on the issue Monday rather than wait a week — the Fourth of July is fast approaching — as is required for ordinance changes. But the council declined to do that, and will vote next Monday.
Reach Deena Winter at 473-2642 or dwinter@journalstar.com.
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