ATTENTION TRIBAL MEMBERS
Notes by S. Deragon:
Notes by S. Deragon:
- Year after year, month after month, Membership has requested a financial
meeting to inform Members of the Tribe’s finances. We hear bottom line figures
that don’t add up and questions that remain unanswered. Monthly financial
reports have been tabled because of noted mistakes in the financial reports.
Tribal revenues have been deliberately misstated by the Administration's
Accounting Department. Late or non-submission of required financial reports,
audits and the Indirect Cost Proposals have jeopardized grants and contracts
and resulted in the loss of many grant opportunities. The first and only
Beloit Casino informational meeting was held in January of this year. At this
meeting, we were shown a financial sheet prepared by the Accounting
Department. We are now told that these figures are incorrect. This multimillion
dollar Off Reservation Gaming Account had been a hidden account, not
included in the audits. A review of the audits for FY2005 to FY2007, indicate
serious problems in the Accounting Department. Although the FY2008 audit is
complete, Members will not have access to this until after the Tribal Council
meets with the Auditor. Meanwhile, serious issues and irregular accounting
practices have recently been confirmed by the new Chairman/Executive
Director. The major revelation is that the Tribal Accounting Department
has been deliberately misappropriating funds to cover their wages.
They have been taking funds in other accounts and holding back on sending out
the processed checks & vouchers because they knew the funds were unavailable
because they already spent it. We questioned the new Chairman and Treasurer
as to the authorization of this wrongful practice. Neither had directed nor given
any authority for the Accounting Department to do this. They acted without
direction/authority by the Tribal Administration and the Tribal Council.
This practice has been going on for a long time, probably years. This means
financial statements were deliberately misstated or falsified causing the
audits to be inaccurate. At this point in time, nobody knows where the
Tribe stands financially. We have no financial accountability. We have an
Accounting Department that has been holding the purse strings and
making detrimental decisions that are well beyond their scope of
authority. Their accounting practices have placed a huge financial
burden that ultimately has cost the Tribe millions of dollars that has not
been accounted for. Members present at Tribal Council meetings are
witness to the new Treasurer’s frustrations in her efforts to accurately
report our finances. Her efforts have been certainly hindered by the
Accounting staff. As our Tribe struggles with transparency issues and
sorting out the financial nightmare created by unethical accounting
practices and the lack of the fiduciary responsibilities of the Bureau of
Indian Affairs, we must look to the Tribal Administration and Tribal
Council/Corporate Board to take corrective action immediately & act in
the best interest of the Tribe, rather than for a handful of employees that
have deliberately misappropriated our funds. Because the magnitude of
problems created by these unauthorized & unethical accounting practices, we felt
it necessitated taking initiative to correct this immediately. The following is a letter
that was sent to the Bureau of Indian Affairs. We hold the B.I.A. responsible for
allowing this situation to persist.
- Amnicon Bay Lease Agreement On Madeline Island
Notes by S. Deragon
At present time we have requests for information concerning the Amnicon Bay lease
agreement. We’ve requested a historical account of the terms of the lease agreements.
We’ve requested information on the fair market value & how this was determined. We’
ve asked about the issue of inadequate septic systems and the renting of cabins on the
property. As we receive this information, we will inform the Members. Meanwhile, we will
tell you what we do know of the lease.
Since 1967, the Tribe has leased lakeshore property on Madeline Island to Amnicon
Bay Developers. The lease amount is to be negotiated every five years. At the
February 11, 2009 Special Tribal Council meeting, the former Tribal Attorney, Susan
Aasen, presented Resolution No. 2-11-09-38. She stated that Amnicon Bay complied
with all of the requests from the Tribe (we have yet to know what these requests
were). A final figure of $112,590.00, annually for five years was agreed upon. Susan
Aasen assured the Council that Amnicon Bay developers were no longer renting out
cabins and “the septic systems were brought up to speed.” She further stated that the
Tribe was receiving $94,500.00 per year.
Resolution No. 2-11-09-38 indicates that prior to the date enacted, the last time the
Tribe negotiated for a modification of the lease was in 1992. The Resolution outlines a
formula used to arrive at the lease amount, however, without knowing how the fair
market value of the property was determined, we truly do not know if this lease amount
is adequate. The Resolution states that the Tribe received $189,000.00 for the years
2007 & 2008 and an additional $36,180.00 would reflect the new lease amount
covering those years.
First of all, what happened to the modification of lease amount for the years 1997 to
2002 and for years covering 2002 to 2007?
Secondly, we find discrepancies in the amounts stated by Susan Aasen ($94,500
/annually) and the acknowledgement of payments received in the Resolution No. 2-11-
09-38 ($189,000.00). At close review of the audit for FY2005, the Tribe received
$78,446.00. In FY2006, the audit reflects the Tribe received 0 (zero). According to the
audit, the Tribe received $78,446.00 in 2007. Although we have not had the
opportunity to see the FY2008 audit, I specifically requested how much money the
Tribe received for 2008. I was told that the Tribe had, again, received 0 (zero). The
Tribe needs to address these discrepancies and collect the appropriate amounts due
the Tribe or explain why the audits do not reflect the amounts that Amnicon Bay paid to
the Tribe. At the March 2010 Tribal Council meeting, issue was raised about the
Accounting Department receiving a check from Amnicon Bay in an amount over
$100,000.00. This check was not deposited. The Accounting Department held onto the
check for six months. The Treasurer of Amnicon Bay recently contacted the Tribe to
inquire as to why this check was not cashed & because of the six month delay, needed
to have the check returned & re-issued. Why was the proper procedure for depositing
funds not adhered to? What are the true amounts of revenue that the Tribe has
collected for leasing this prime lakefront property? Why the huge discrepancies?
Lastly, I believe the Tribe should revisit the issue of septic problems to ensure that
this was, in fact, resolved. I say this because during one of the discussions with former
Chairman Bigboy during a Tribal Council meeting, he told the Members that this issue
was taken care of because he sent Susan Aasen (Tribal Attorney) and an employee
who works on Tribal leases to Madeline Island to check it out. Members raised concern
that neither of these individuals were qualified to assess whether the septic systems
were up to code, as it was also noted that the Indian Health Service Engineer was not
present during their inspection. Without an engineer to evaluate the situation, how do
we know the septic systems are up to code? We’ll certainly be looking to see if the IHS
Engineer inspected & had signed off on this matter.
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When you are in doubt, be still, and wait... when doubt no longer exists for you, then go forward with courage. So long as mists envelop you, be still... Be still until the sunlight pours through and dispels the mists, as it surely will. Then act with courage. |
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This website is dedicated to the people of Bad River. We must honor and preserve our past, present, and future; Only with knowledge can we achieve. |
| Recent Stories Where's The Money? The Rundown...(Feb.) Happy Birthday BRANews! Where's The Transparency? 2006, 2005 Tribal Audits Gaming Commission Meeting (Feb. 25) |
- Transparency
\Trans*par'en*cy\
a general quality. It is
implemented by a set
of policies, practices
and procedures that
allow citizens to have
accessibility, usability,
informativeness,
understandability and
auditability of
information and
process held by
centers of authority
(society or
organizations)
- De·moc·ra·cy [Dih-
mok-ruh-see]
1. government by the
people; a form of
government in which
the supreme power is
vested in the people
and exercised directly
by them or by their
elected agents under
a free electoral
system.
2. a state of society
characterized by
formal equality of
rights and privileges.
- Strange Beds & Empty Pockets
Tuesday March 9, 2010 - This past meeting (March 3,
2010) our Council was asked when the people of Bad River
will receive another Beloit Casino informational meeting.
Tribal Membership also inquired about the expenditure
sheet (which showed a raw breakdown of the monies
vested on the project) the shareholders were presented
(and later informed were wrong). Membership was told
that Bonnie Greene only had one day to prepare this
expenditure sheet and entered what our accounting had in
the system.
The accounting question also initiated another set of
inquiries pertaining to our use of lobbyists (J. Taylor and A.
Martin). Membership questioned if the Tribe is still
contracting these lobbyist services (prior to the new
administration, we had been paying them each $5,000
per month). These were some good questions brought up
by our Membership, so after doing a little investigative
research BRANews uncovered some interesting facts
regarding one of our lobbyist contracts...
You know Bill Broydrick don't you, the heavy-hitting fat cat
lobbyist who has been dubbed one of the most powerful,
politically connected insiders in Wisconsin? Okay, I agree Bill
Broydrick isn’t necessarily a household name, but anyone
who watches CNN might recall the infamous “D.C. Madam
Scandal." Well it turns out Bill Broydrick has been directly
linked to our famous “D.C. Madam.” Yes, that Madam;
money laundering, racketeering, prostitution, extortion,
mysterious suicide.. all the things that we have come to know
and expect in American politics. But what I bet you didn’t
know is that Bill Broydrick has been listed as one of our
players. Its true, our slugger Bill Broydrick has gone to bat
for Bad River several times with hard hitting issues such as;
the Beloit Casino Project, Indian gaming, tribal law
enforcement funding, tourism, treaty rights, etc.
The point I’m trying to make is the vitality in the knowledge
of who our associates are, who we have contracts with, and
how much money we are spending on them. Without doubt,
had proper accounting procedures been followed, we would
have an expenditure sheet with correct figures that truly
reflect our money spent on the Beloit Casino Project and we
would definitely know the names of the pockets we’ve been
stuffing to make it all happen. But I guess that’s just my take
on it, then again my pockets are empty, so what do I know?
| The Rundown... (March 3rd Council Meeting) The Bad River Tribal Council Meeting held on Wednesday March 3, 2010 was slated for 17 items on the agenda (13 agenda items in Regular Session, 4 items in Executive Session) Call to Order : Roll call taken, all seven council members present. Moment of Silence : Approval Of Agenda : Chairman Wiggins explained to membership that this was the first agenda “put together by the extra effort of our new Tribal Ops. Manager”, so there are a couple of items which needed to be addressed and added to the posted agenda; (1)Community’s Five Minutes, (2)Chairman’s Remarks, (3) Heart Watch Program: Vitamin D Survey Proposal. Chairman Wiggins requested the Vitamin D proposal be presented as the second agenda item, as the presenters made a long drive. The AIM contract (#3 Executive Session) was removed from the agenda. Dr. Morud contract (#4 Executive Session) was moved to Open Session (#14). Also the WHIP Contract (Kyle Hanson) will be presented by Naomi Tillison instead. Member questioned why Summer Feeding Program was in Executive Session. Chairman Wiggins explained the item “revolves around personnel issues”. Tribal member brought up discussion over last meeting in regard to the listing of tribal jobs posted to demonstrate “equal opportunity”. Tribal Operations Manager stated “that’s to be addressed by Human Resources. Membership requested non-members to excuse themselves from the meeting until their agenda item was called (meetings are for membership only). Chairman explained meeting protocol and requested non- members (Judy & Peter Dix) if they could please take a seat outside until their presentation was heard. Motion to approve the Agenda “as amended” passed. Approval of Minutes (Feb. 3 Regular Council Meeting & Feb. 25 Gaming Commission Meeting) : Treasurer Burns indicated a discrepancy on minutes taken. Stated minutes did not include Treasurer’s rebuttal to Tribal Member’s accusation of Treasurer going into accounting office to make adjustments. Minutes recorded was: [Tribal member asked why Treasurer goes in on Sundays to make adjustments] Treasurer Burns felt this was an inadequate because Secretary “left out” Treasurer‘s rebuttal. Treasurer Burns stated that she didn’t make any adjustments. Secretary Ford stated, “I know. I just don’t get into full detail of things. I just take what was discussed and that‘s it” Treasurer also felt the name of the person asking the question should be recorded, as that person is also a tribal employee. Treasurer felt she was verbally attacked. Secretary stated a lot of people are attacked but she doesn’t record names. Heated argument continued. Chairman Wiggins intervened and stated we could put [Tribal member asked why does the Treasurer go in on Sundays] Treasurer still felt record was insufficient because her answer wasn’t included. Secretary said, “we’ll just take it out of there.” Membership spoke up and stated it was unethical to erase recorded minutes. Membership also felt the official minutes should indicate Treasurer’s rebuttal to be fair. Secretary stated she doesn’t write “who said what, what was said, nothing like that.“ Chairman Wiggins suggested a sentence be added to include Treasurer’s rebuttal to accusation; [It was the Treasurer’s position that she wasn’t making adjustments] Chairman’s suggestion seemed to bring everyone to agreement. Chairman Wiggins indicated a discrepancy on minutes [5:41pm Mike arrived and responded to class action suit being waged on certain council members] Membership stated the comment was actually made in reference to a certain case file from a southwest tribe and nobody is suing our tribal council. Chairman directed Secretary to change wording to: [Mike responded to Brenda’s comments in regard to another tribe’s class action suit being waged on their tribal council members] Meeting minutes for Feb. 3 revised and approved by council vote. Chairman Wiggins entertained tabling minutes for Feb 25 and approving them at the next Gaming Meeting. Membership brought up the Gaming meeting also had regular council business on the agenda and there was a poll vote taken which needed to be ratified this meeting. Chairman agreed and stated he thought he would “just throw that out there.“ Council reviewed minutes. Council member Connors indicated discrepancy on time of adjournment. Time corrected. As a side note, chairman stated Wesley Connors sold historical document for $500 less than original offer. Chairman directed secretary to make correction in regard to “Code Of Conduct discussion“. Council Approved minutes. Financial Reports: *Please Note Financials Were Tabled* December’s General Airplane Services : -$5.00 Aging : -$4,844.49 Amnicon Bay: $0 Cell Tower : -$532.48 Cigarette Tax Revenue : -$704.60 Donations : -$2,633.78 Dog Warden : -$6,010.00 Enrollment : -$6,305.30 Court Fee Collections : +$130.00 Fire Department : -$8,322.20 Forestry crop : +$7.29 Forestry/Ten Percent : -$921.37 Forestry Brush Hog : +$10,276.50 Food Distribution : -$2,483.80 Gas Pipeline Revenue: +$59.32 General : -$10,138.17 GIS Data Mgmt. : -$410.15 Gravel + Snowplowing : +$712.90 Interest Transfer Acct : -$1,129.43 Internal Auditor : -$3,044.80 Judicial/Legal : -$10,537.30 Land purchase : +$12.94 Library : -$3,354.22 Natural Res/Judicial : +$9.10 Off-Reservation : -$1,666.98 Ojibwe Language : -$3,018.20 Phone Cost : -$1,056.34 Police Department : -$2,454.43 Realty/Lease : -$3,591.89 Repatriation Com. : -$968.88 Septic System : -$3,469.86 Special Projects : -$26,558.66 Space Cost/Building : -$17,714.12 Tribal License Plates : +$2,435.70 Totals for December Revenue : $54,214.40 Expense : $161,646.20 *Loss : $107,431.80 - Question raised in regard to Interest Transfer Acct. Member asked why are we losing money if it’s supposed to be revenue. Is it the interest we paid or interest we’re getting? After long pause, Bonnie Greene stated it’s the interest from the tribe’s other checking account, which was transferred into the general acct. - Question raised about the Off-Reservation Acct. Member wanted to know what it was for. Treasurer Burns stated it was for Gaming. - Member asked about Cigarette Tax Revenue. Bonnie Greene stated it was the revenue we get back from state which is divvied up between all the vendors. - Question raised over Septic System Acct. Bonnie Greene stated it was wage cost for employee who is currently working with IHS for septic mounds. - Member asked council if we owned the Brush Hog. Member informed we did indeed own it. - Member inquired about Special Projects Acct. Bonnie Greene stated it involved programs that the General Acct has to match for funds. Member also wanted to know how much money do we actually match for programs. Bonnie Greene said she didn’t know. - Member raised concern over Space Cost. Wanted to know why it was so negative if the tribe collects space cost for every program. Are we even collecting? When do we collect? Is it based on previous years? Bonnie Greene stated space cost is collected quarterly and it’s isn’t based on previous years. She further stated it hasn’t been adjusted in “quite awhile.” Chairman Wiggins stated the issue has been addressed to Scott Vaughn (Facilities Mgr) and Tribal Ops. and our goal is to make money also it should be based on what our actual costs are. - Member pointed out tarp hanging from ceiling which was full of water. Stated reason why he pointed it out was because he was wondering if we already approved a new space cost contract for this year yet, because this has been in disrepair for 3 years. Member informed there isn’t an approved contract yet. Bonnie Greene stated its like that because we haven’t had an approved budget in 3 years and because space allocations are not correct, we have to take money from general account for things like that. Member stated he is in disbelief we don’t have a plan and our buildings are falling apart and nobody is doing anything about it. Chairman Wiggins stated “We are now.” Chairman stated it was one of the first things he addressed to Facilities Mgr. during his first week in office. Also mentioned he now has full management team in place and they will be running that effort. - Member questioned status of new elderly center. Stated building is less than year old and already has several malfunctions. Wanted to know what was being done about it. Discussion on performance bond and who is financially responsible for malfunctions. Member further stated he’s heard that building was handed to us with some things already inoperable. Chairman requested Tribal Ops & Special Projects to work together to identify what recourse we have on some of the stuff that’s failing. - Member questioned why we don’t have a plan or a periodic update for space allocation cost in place. Also raised concern over condition of our facilities. Chairman stated we have a facilities mgr who has probably been part of the disconnect in gathering data to set up a strategic plan. Reiterated that problems are being addressed. Tribal Ops Mgr stated “right now we are ascertaining where we are and what is owed so we can update the budget accordingly.” January’s General Cell Tower : +$1,744.62 Cigarette Tax Revenue : +$39,307.21 Community Donations -$3,234.88 Dog Warden : -$36.98 Education : -$38.50 Tribal Court Fees : +$30 Fire Dept. : -$9.67 Forestry Crop : +$7.30 Forestry/Ten Percent : +183.23 Gas Pipeline : +$1.43 General : +$48,445.73 (included transfers of $55,325) GIS Data Mgmt. : +$244.20 Gravel + Snowplowing +$70 Headstart : -$159.09 Interest Transfer Acct. : +$395.09 Internal Auditor : -$452.50 Justice/Legal : -$1,058.96 Land Purchase : +$8.47 Off-Reservation : -$1,424.09 Phone Cost : -$1,387.67 Police Dept. : -$817.97 Realty/Lease : +$40 Septic System : -$24.99 Special Projects : -$7,197.20 Space Cost/Buildings : +$909.58 Tribal License Plates : -$378.98 Total For January Revenue : $146,169.45 Expense : $115,568.48 *Profit : $30,608.97 - Member raised concern over Septic System Acct. as to why is there such a huge discrepancy between last month. Questioned if wages got paid for the month. Membership informed it may have been clerical error and got “keyed in wrong.” Bonnie Greene said he may have been paid from another program. Member said it didn’t make sense to hopscotch payments from different programs especially for accounting purposes. Bonnie Greene stated, “accounting pays where the program tells us to pay from.” Treasurer Burns stated that’s why we have these problems, we have payroll at MIP and accounting at MAS 90. She further stated there is a push to get everyone into MIP by April 1. Chairman Wiggins stated it was a good discrepancy and will make “concerted effort” to figure out what happened. Chairman requested Treasurer & Tribal Ops. to work “proactively” to find out about the discrepancy. Treasurer stated that it was an accounting job, but she will look into it. Motion to table financials. Motion passed. - Treasurer stated the reason why she said it was an accounting job was because last meeting she was told she only has “read-only rights”. Member stated as Treasurer it is her duty to safeguard all of our tribal assets. So how can Treasurer report to the people if Treasurer doesn’t have the ability to get the “accurate information.” Bonnie Greene stated “the Treasurer can just ask the people in accounting what she needs to know.” Chairman Wiggins stated that is why he asked Tribal Ops Mgr. to assist Treasurer, so she gets all the information she needs. Further stated anything going on in accounting the Treasurer is privy to. Member mentioned discrepancies in regard to last meeting’s financial reports and stated it wasn’t Treasurer’s fault, it was whoever was giving her the reports. It was the Chairman’s understanding the report Barb Santana had been handing in was the type the previous Treasurer had specifically requested. Chairman further stated it was his belief the Treasurer has been working proactively with enterprise accountant in obtaining information and under his administration, any information is at the Treasurer’s disposal with no restrictions. - Member asked why hasn’t an accounting specialist been hired yet, as this is already the 5th month of the new administration. Chairman explained there were some internal personnel things that unfortunately didn’t come to pass. But the job had been posted and the hiring process is in motion. In closing, Chairman Wiggins stated we have made more progress transitioning to the MIP software in the past 5 months than we have in the past four years. - Chairman invited Bob Houle from Human Resources to discuss job postings. Accounting Manager position is closed with 4 candidates with merits. Currently undergoing background checks. Other jobs being looked over were; Elderly Head Cook, Assistant Attorney, and Casino Assistant Manager. - Chairman cleared up accusations made by member/employee at last meeting in regard to accusations made against Treasurer. Chairman had requested Treasurer’s accounting expertise in assisting with getting accounting department up and running. Chairman thanked her for her help and stated had he been at the meeting when accusation was made he would have “moved to set the record straight.” Monthly Reports: - Monthly reports were presented & made available for membership viewing. Questions were taken by Council in regard to monthly reports. - Discussion started by Vice-Chair about lunch break times pertaining to Headstart. Member questioned why break times were in question, as the usual norm was employees took breaks at end of the day and left a half-hour early. Chairman Wiggins stated, “when you look to apply policy, you do it across the board with an eye on equity and fairness.” He also stated Tribal Ops. was looking into concerns the teachers had. - Member brought up a motion passed by previous council several years ago in regard to providing free water & sewer services to our tribal elderly. Member stated she thought it was back during the Donald Moore administration. Tribal Secretary stated “we lost all kinds of minutes” she didn’t think that we would find anything. Chairman requested Tribal Ops Mgr. to make a note for him to check with Barb Smart on that issue. - Motion to approve Monthly Reports passed. 5 MINUTES: * Tribal member submitted written request asking for three actions; (1) accounting of monies given to non- enrolled elder members out of casino revenue in regard to the tribal Elderly Day Promotion. Member feels it is wrong to give monies to non-members when our tribal elder’s needs are not being met. (2) Member is requesting tribal council to take action on membership request from December’s council meeting. This request was for council to provide a list of board & committee members, their time served on boards, stipend amounts, by-laws & policies of boards; all of which is to be posted so that it is viewable by public. (3) Member is also requesting the establishment of a Social Services Advisory Board. Member stated the board would provide accountability of funds and services. Would also hold social services department accountable as far as complaints. Chairman Stated he would be interested in further discussions revolving around the possibility of forming such a board. Chairman would like to also take a look at other reservations to analyze the structure of their boards and further stated there is no quick answer to this request. Chairman invited Casino Mgr. to present the figures member was looking for. Chairman also did some research and could not find any resolution on the topic of Elderly Day. Also researched some solutions discussed in the past and prior meeting minutes where the topic of Elderly Day was discussed. No paper trail was found. Casino Manager, Brian Mayotte presented some quick facts about the Elderly Day Promo. Stated he based his figures on the player tracking system and also the reports he receives from accounting. In fiscal year 2009 approximately 4,597 people participated in the Elderly Day program. Out of that, on average, 99 non-members participated per month out of 397 people total. These numbers do increase during summer months. The Elderly Package comp structure consists of a breakfast & casino package. Each breakfast costs $7.75 the breakfast cost alone ranges from $1,700-$1,900 per month. Elderly package costs $35. Consists of $5 casino cash tokens, $10 roll of quarters, & $20 token roll. So the package cost would be $35 plus the $7.75 meal. 396 people participate in Elderly Day per month and of that number, 99 are non-members. Casino Manager stated for fiscal year 2009, our cash-in was $22,464 and our cash-out was $189,602.30. So in other words, we paid $189,602.30 to get $22,464. Net loss for Fy2009 Elderly Day Promo was $167,138.30. For this year (2010) the money spent on the promo was $58,811.25. Total cost spent yearly on non-members for the Elderly Day Promo would be $50,787. Member questioned how Elderly Day expanded from one day a month to being able to collect any time during the month. Casino Mgr. Said promo started in 1995 and since then its went through many changes. When Casino Mgr. First started last year, he went to council and was told very sternly to just leave it just the way it is. Chairman stated this is ultimately a Council decision and a business decision, but he doesn’t see the harm in setting up a meeting with the elders and getting more feedback from a broader range of our tribal elders. * Tribal member questioned Dr. Morud’s contract, was this a long-term or short-term solution. Further questioned why we need another doctor. Was told by Chairman, Deb Tutor would be available to answer her question later on in the agenda. Revisited earlier question about figuring maintenance cost into the budget & the lack of training for our building inspectors or money to hire any of these kinds of people and was upset because there is no planning. Member further stated she wasn’t interested in numbers. She just wanted to know how the tribe was doing. Said the Treasurer creates her own problems and instead of reading numbers that have discrepancies, she should correct them. Chairman stated Treasurer does have constitutional duties but there also is a job description for Treasurer on file and also an accounting department that has a job to do. Member stated she doesn’t know why Treasurer has problem not getting information she needs. Treasurer stated she received call from treasurer at Amnicon Bay questioning why tribe hadn’t cashed payment check from 6 months ago and when she questioned somebody about it and opened the envelope to get a copy of it she got yelled at. It is the Treasurer’s belief that she has a right to information because she’s the Treasurer. Bonnie Greene told Treasurer if she would’ve asked her for a copy, she would have got her one. Treasurer stated the check should have been deposited 6 months ago. Chairman stated we are dealing with the issues by establishing an IDC budget, the addressment of cutbacks with the focus of keeping jobs, the 401K plan cost benefit analysis proposal saved $50,000 dealing with that. Also looked at an enterprise entity that’s been losing $190,000 yearly. Chairman stated these items alone would save the tribe over a million dollars so from strategic planning standpoint, we are doing things. * Member was wondering if there was a conflict of interest in regard to head auditor being an inspector at Falmouth Institute. Member stated Falmouth charges the highest for training. Chairman stated it went through council and passed legal review and he hasn’t heard anyone say anything like that. Tribal Ops. Mgr. stated it was not yet her first full week as Tribal Ops. Mgr. and already job descriptions are being pulled for strategic planning. Stated We need to know where we’re at before we can go forward and we are trying to ascertain where we’re at and in some cases are restructuring some things that don’t exist. Also thought questioning when strategic planning session will happen is premature. Chairman made comment about framework in place for presenting summary of where the tribe is and what we are doing. Is looking to present summary in the future. * Member raised concern over unpaid medical bills. Chairman stated all of the 2009 medical bills have been paid. All of the past medical bills currently in collection are being renegotiated. This will take some time because we need to renegotiate one bill at a time. The Medicare D proposal was brought up. Chairman said we shouldn’t give up on it. Would’ve been essential because it would have enabled us to stretch our health care funding further. This proposal would have been zero cost to tribal elders. Member raised concern over the proposal stating he felt uneasy about entrusting tribe to provide health care when the tribe can’t pay the medical bills. * Member complimented new administration on some positive changes that have been happening and would like to see them continue. * Member brought up issue of destroying old outdated documents. Chairman explained the records aren’t required through law anymore. Working on addressing issue. Looking to make room for new records. Also looking to transition to electronic storage. Mentioned vendor for Oneida is willing to “open doors” for tribal staff to see benefits of electronic storage. * Member was looking for help with ICW. State codes vs. Tribal Codes discussed. * Member brought up new no-smoking policy for community center. Member believed this policy should be across the board for all tribal buildings. Consensus vote called for Chief Blackbird building to declare smoke-free facility starting immediately. * Member was looking for response in regard to request for 19 year historical account of casino revenue. Chairman stated response could take anywhere from 90 to 120 days. * Member raised question as to when the community will receive another Beloit Casino informational meeting and also brought up the expenditure sheet. Stated he was informed these figures were incorrect. Wanted to know when the community will get the correct figures. Member questioned if lobbyist cost was also included in those figures. Chairman stated those numbers are definitely questionable. Asked Treasurer and Bonnie Greene if they could come up with possible timeline. Bonnie Greene was asked to come up with numbers day before the meeting and entered what they had in the system. Chairman indicated there were lobbyists on staff to help facilitate growth of natural resources so possibly some of that was figured in also. Member stated back at a meeting in May of ‘09 membership raised concern over paying lobbyists J. Taylor & A. Martin $5,000 each per month. Back then the council had denied this but come to find out indeed we actually were. Back then council had promised they were going to drop their lobbyist services. Member wanted to know if tribe was still using them. Chairman stated he didn't believe so. Member stated this is why a true reflection of the figures are needed so we can clear up these things. Chairman stated he isn’t getting anything back on a timeline but its in our best interest to find out what the true numbers are but was unsure of timeframe and asked for community patience. - Motion passed to go into Regular Session. Regular Session: Heartwatch Vitamin D Proposal - UMD doctor was looking to do a vitamin D survey on reservation. Looking to have total of 100 post-menopausal women between the age of 50-75 collectively in MN and WI participate in the study. As an incentive to participants they will be offering a monetary gift card. Discussion on benefits of good Vitamin D diet. Resolution to participate passed. Relinquishments/Newborns - Reviewed and approved list. Bingo/Raffle Request (Elderly Advisory Committee) - Bad River Elderly Fundraising Committee was looking for council authorization to conduct 3 charity bingos/raffles to raise money for elderly activities. (1) ongoing Monday Night Bingo at Elderly Center (2) Special Mother’s Day Bingo at Community Center (3) Charity Raffles. Resolution to conduct charitable bingos passed. Resolution to conduct charitable raffles passed. Bingo/Raffle Request (Wendy Wolfe) - Resolution to conduct charitable bingo/raffle passed. BIA Litigation To Support Tribal Water Quality Standards (Naomi Tillison) - BIA Litigation support funding to help asses water quality data to develop statistical background data and structure water quality standards for the tribe. Resolution passed. WHIP Contract - Wildlife habitat Incentives Program Contract, poll vote was taken on Feb. 16 because of deadline issue. Approval was passed (6-0) looking to ratify. Kyle Hanson (wetlands Specialist) applied for WHIP contract with natural resource conservation service. Consists of invasive hybrid cattail removal and to reseed Bear Trap Creek with green rice purchased from community members for the summer of 2010. Program will reimburse tribe for their efforts in the amount of $6,454.80. Motion to approve resolution to ratify passed 2009 Tribal Environmental Agreement EPA (Jason Ritter) - Tribal Environmentalist Specialist was looking to approve agreement for 2010-2012. Agreement will be roadmap for next 3 years which will outline priorities of tribe to the EPA This will affect funding for training and costs. This will enable us to do our own surveys and studies. Agreement is flexible to fit the needs of the tribe. Motion to approve agreement passed. Solid Waste Management Plan (Dave D‘Acquisto/Jason Ritter) - Needed council approval of original but revised plan which is on a 5 year cycle. New plan will enable the tribe to receive additional EPA funding for waste program to help meet the needs of the community. Resolution for approval passed Plan effective March 3, 2010. Septic Contractor Selection (Derek Nelis/Erick Arnold) - Looking to approve Dykstra Construction & Tony Brown Construction contract. Bid proposal was $65,000 less than highest bidder . Contract consists of 25 homes to begin in May and finished before September, as we will no longer be able to draw funds for the project. Also the contractor must employ tribal members. Memorandum of agreement between tribe and contractors passed. Motor Vehicle Code (Joe Szwarek/Erick Arnold) - Looking for council to pass motor vehicle code . The adoption of a code would assert jurisdiction of non-criminal motor-vehicle violations and ultimately would enable the tribe to collect traffic forfeitures. This would be across the board for members and non-members. Motion to adopted motor vehicle code passed. *Note NSF Collections were tabled. Starseed was not heard. Also heard was Real Estate Taxes & Realty Leases & Dr. Morud's Contract* |
ac·count·a·bil·i·ty
[uh-koun-tuh-bil-i-tee]
the acknowledgment and
assumption of responsibility
for actions, products,
decisions, and policies
including the administration,
governance, and
implementation within the
scope of the role or
employment position and
encompassing the
obligation to report, explain
and be answerable for
resulting consequences.
[uh-koun-tuh-bil-i-tee]
the acknowledgment and
assumption of responsibility
for actions, products,
decisions, and policies
including the administration,
governance, and
implementation within the
scope of the role or
employment position and
encompassing the
obligation to report, explain
and be answerable for
resulting consequences.