Tribal Members' requests for financial reports & public meetings to answer
financial questions & concerns continue to be ignored by the Council. Over a
year ago, on March 17, 2008, a group of Tribal Members held a protest,
asking for an honest government & an investigation by the BIA into Tribal
finances. Members submitted their concerns to BIA superintendent Diane
Rosen, along with a copy of the FY2005 Audit by WIPFLI. Members wanted to
know why there were stacks & stacks of signed checks on the Treasurer's
desk that the Tribe was not sending out. In an open meeting Treasurer
Lemieux told members that the Tribe didn't have the money in the account to
cover all the checks. He claimed the mess was left from the previous
administration & it amounted to approximately 2.2 million dollars. Think about
it... Programs submit a voucher & necessary documentation (or should be) to
issue the check. The check is processed from the appropriate account.
Approval & appropriate signatures are obtained & the check should be sent.
If program funds are deposited into the account, where's the money? Serious
audit findings included the checks written did not match what was entered
into the journal. This fact alone is a RED FLAG. Of continued and growing
concern is the serious state of our medical bills. Year after year we have had
the same findings. Lame excuses & promises to correct the situation with a
corrective plan of action can no longer stave off Tribal Members wanting to
know what's happening with the mounting unpaid medical bills & threats of
legal action against the Tribe & individual Members. A complete list of all
certificates of deposit, identifying the origin & status of each still remains a
mystery despite repeated requests. Program funds are used to purchase
certificates of deposit & these deposits are then used as collateral to obtain
loans of which we have no clue as to what these loans are for. For almost a
decade, tribal officials exploited tribal funds for the Beloit Casino Project.
Many repeated requests for a full accounting of our tribal dollars on this
project alone, has fallen on deaf ears. Consider the time & travel, not just to
Beloit, but to St. Croix & Washington; huge expenses to conduct open
meetings & hearings to for the Beloit community, not to mention their
referendum on the issue; on-site paid Beloit Casino staff & consultants; legal
expenses;"Good Will Ambassadors" & the "good will" gestures to the Beloit
citizens; all expenses entailed in drafting the land to trust application, such
as the EIS, etc. The Tribe paid out $260,000.00 to Barnes & Thornsburg for
lobbyist services that we know of. At recent Council meetings, Members
expressed concern over a lobbyist contract that Chairman Bigboy was
advocating for Council approval. The contract was for $5,000.00 per month to
Jeff Taylor, Beloit Casino lobbyist. No action was taken after Members voiced
their concerns. What most members don't know is that the Tribe DID sign a
contract for lobbyist services. In fact, the Tribe now has two (2) separate
contracts for lobbyist services. The combined amount for these contracts is
$10,000.00 per month. In FY2005 the Tribe had approximately 23,000 acres of
land encumbered. What else don't we know? We hear Tribal program staff at
meetings, reporting program concerns because of the Tribe's lack of audits &
financial reporting. We have been told that Bad River is ineligible to apply for
many new grants because the FY2006 audit was so late. The FY2006 audit
was submitted to the Single Audit Clearinghouse just late last month (March).
We have been told that the FY2007 audit will be completed this month in April.
Why has the Tribe been 4 years behind in audits? How much has this cost
the Tribe in both dollars and services to the people? The serious losses in
Tribal enterprises need to be addressed. Tribal Members deserve to have
their questions answered. We need a full accounting of ALL tribal funds. We
need a forensic audit of the general account. We as auditors of OUR Tribal
Government must demand FULL FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE!
financial questions & concerns continue to be ignored by the Council. Over a
year ago, on March 17, 2008, a group of Tribal Members held a protest,
asking for an honest government & an investigation by the BIA into Tribal
finances. Members submitted their concerns to BIA superintendent Diane
Rosen, along with a copy of the FY2005 Audit by WIPFLI. Members wanted to
know why there were stacks & stacks of signed checks on the Treasurer's
desk that the Tribe was not sending out. In an open meeting Treasurer
Lemieux told members that the Tribe didn't have the money in the account to
cover all the checks. He claimed the mess was left from the previous
administration & it amounted to approximately 2.2 million dollars. Think about
it... Programs submit a voucher & necessary documentation (or should be) to
issue the check. The check is processed from the appropriate account.
Approval & appropriate signatures are obtained & the check should be sent.
If program funds are deposited into the account, where's the money? Serious
audit findings included the checks written did not match what was entered
into the journal. This fact alone is a RED FLAG. Of continued and growing
concern is the serious state of our medical bills. Year after year we have had
the same findings. Lame excuses & promises to correct the situation with a
corrective plan of action can no longer stave off Tribal Members wanting to
know what's happening with the mounting unpaid medical bills & threats of
legal action against the Tribe & individual Members. A complete list of all
certificates of deposit, identifying the origin & status of each still remains a
mystery despite repeated requests. Program funds are used to purchase
certificates of deposit & these deposits are then used as collateral to obtain
loans of which we have no clue as to what these loans are for. For almost a
decade, tribal officials exploited tribal funds for the Beloit Casino Project.
Many repeated requests for a full accounting of our tribal dollars on this
project alone, has fallen on deaf ears. Consider the time & travel, not just to
Beloit, but to St. Croix & Washington; huge expenses to conduct open
meetings & hearings to for the Beloit community, not to mention their
referendum on the issue; on-site paid Beloit Casino staff & consultants; legal
expenses;"Good Will Ambassadors" & the "good will" gestures to the Beloit
citizens; all expenses entailed in drafting the land to trust application, such
as the EIS, etc. The Tribe paid out $260,000.00 to Barnes & Thornsburg for
lobbyist services that we know of. At recent Council meetings, Members
expressed concern over a lobbyist contract that Chairman Bigboy was
advocating for Council approval. The contract was for $5,000.00 per month to
Jeff Taylor, Beloit Casino lobbyist. No action was taken after Members voiced
their concerns. What most members don't know is that the Tribe DID sign a
contract for lobbyist services. In fact, the Tribe now has two (2) separate
contracts for lobbyist services. The combined amount for these contracts is
$10,000.00 per month. In FY2005 the Tribe had approximately 23,000 acres of
land encumbered. What else don't we know? We hear Tribal program staff at
meetings, reporting program concerns because of the Tribe's lack of audits &
financial reporting. We have been told that Bad River is ineligible to apply for
many new grants because the FY2006 audit was so late. The FY2006 audit
was submitted to the Single Audit Clearinghouse just late last month (March).
We have been told that the FY2007 audit will be completed this month in April.
Why has the Tribe been 4 years behind in audits? How much has this cost
the Tribe in both dollars and services to the people? The serious losses in
Tribal enterprises need to be addressed. Tribal Members deserve to have
their questions answered. We need a full accounting of ALL tribal funds. We
need a forensic audit of the general account. We as auditors of OUR Tribal
Government must demand FULL FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE!
| DEMAND A FULL FORENSIC AUDIT OF ALL TRIBAL FUNDS |
