FOUR WEEKS AGO
He kept acting like he didn’t know there was an emergency. TAT actually showed up to the Emergency Meeting and was totally defensive about his role in the mishandling and ignoring the Tribe’s financial crisis. The short story here; Bobby wants to grab very small pots of random money (he’s found…hmmmm) and exploit grant Indirect Costs (IDC) funds to cover a large shortfall.
Forgot to tell you. Our poll showed that this picture was voted the “Most Unidentifiable Tribal Member of the Year.” Stress will do that.
So, he launched into this really bizarre Trump like babble of excuses about the inability to complete the audits, the comptroller’s sleepless nights….(because for more than a year he refused to release them). The most recent denial series began in early June. Our mysterious Comptroller denied Vice Chair Hendricks’ request saying it had to be approved by the Treasurer. Of course that was a lie. The Tribal Court ruled that any Council member request must be answered within 7 days. That was almost three months ago. Not only did TAT sputter absolute deniability, but he also called his finance department “a mess.” A profound understatement.
The council was playing to a packed audience in the chamber. About 30 tribal members showed up (additional 8 on zoom) and witnessed a frustrated Chief say ” We have serious budget issues to meet, and we need to get it together.” As the meeting went on the chairman sat on zoom solemn, silent without guiding the dialogue. He was at a leadership conference. The irony was too much. At one point it was clear he was reading the bullet points distributed to those in need of “leadership skills.” It was awful
Once again the Chief snapped, “Who’s running this meeting? Everything is
The Chief was able to reign in Council members who were out of line. But now even the most basic common-sense solutions seem out of reach.
willy nilly.” To TAT he said “You’re talking about spending money you don’t have. The Tribe has no income. Why don’t we have an income. You’re the Treasurer, your job is money.” Then they got into the consultants hired at $250 k a pop who never fixed a damn thing. They just kept taking the money right under the nose of the so-called comptroller who still can’t put a budget on the table. We still don’t even know if the comptroller is a CPA. What’s your bet?
Bobby sputtered on about his work with the chair to get a smoke shop going. That outdated concept is more trouble than it’s worth and would raise $300K annually at best. Surprisingly, some of David Weeden’s ideas made sense until he lapsed into his real passion, the smoke shop, like that was a viable option.
Councilman Nelson Andrews reminded everyone of his efforts to get
Andrews continues to deliver to the Tribe and partner with fellow council members on projects that move us forward. His go to status and contacts in Indian Country benefits us too.
support for a variety of businesses and partnerships that would bring in upwards of $75 million dollars annually. He pointed to the Eastern Band of Cherokees partnering on a resort, gas stations and other investments in the Tribe. The opportunity to set up a turnkey cannabis operation and expand solar electricity to sell. Solar would also cover the cost of government center, and housing utilities. He never ever got a response from CK who has yet to generate a dime for the tribe. To keep the lights on and basic maintenance costs $1.6m. And VC Hendricks reminded everyone that they still owed the land in trust lawyers $1.3 m.
The Tribe will have only $2.8 by the new year.
So, the touchy subject of salaries was next. For certain departments that
Hopefully Nitana understands that her school may not make it past the new year. She’s been told for the longest to crank some grants. That didn’t happen so after school it is.
have no grant funding its beyond serious. They are broke. Enter the controversial Weetamuw School lead by Councilwoman Nitana Hicks Greendeer, PhD. With ten students it’s heavy on teachers and staff (18) with hefty pay checks that eat up most of the budget. But according to many sources Nitana’s salary will make your eyes water. Worse is the overall price tag is between $750k-$900k annually with no grant funding. She really had the nerve to ask for that kind of money. No doubt she was egged on by CK. Okay, so the Indigenous Montessori program hasn’t lived up to whatever it’s supposed to prepare our children for. And no one believes it’s worth the money. Tribal members and Council members say the Weetamuw amounts to an after school-latchkey program at best. That warrants a third of the budget request.
But that didn’t stop the money grab. And where did they go to get the money for Ellen, Nitana, and Magpie’s salaries? They turned to opioid settlement revenues. Well, that is an absolute no-no. And Shelly Pocknett went off about it during the last Sunday meeting and she fried Nitana “good and proper” as the old timers used to say. Nitana’s disregard for the tribal members is stunning. Her indifference to family complaints about the treatment of their children and the ones she expelled, is remarkable. All parents get is her blank stare. Apparently she doesn’t understand that serving on the Council doesn’t guarantee the protection of her program. Quite the contrary. She was elected to serve the Tribal members.
Despite the Chief’s prodding, CK said nothing through the majority of the meeting pouting like a teenager. It reminded you that every one of the 5 Council members, who often oppose CK loyalists, proposed or have offered legitimate projects to fix the looming deficit. Every one of those efforts have been blocked by the Cliff Walkers, who contribute NOTHING. Their fealty to CK is cultlike. Just like the Trump MAGA.
Remember these Cliff Walkers ignored his abhorrent defiance of Tribal police.CK lead followers on to the Tribal land on Pow Wow weekend. Unlike Trump during January 6, the chairman ushered them on to the farm despite the police efforts to stop them. His do-nothing loyalists refused to sanction or even remove the problem child. And lastly, there was no police report. Jesus Kevin. Who the hell do you work for?
Turning a blind eye only leads to problems escalating. What are they going to say then?
