The Farmer’s Almanac predicts that we’re in for a brutally cold and snow-filled winter this year and it’s coming soon. Brace yourselves members of Lac Courte Oreilles, it’s going to be an especially hard winter for you and here’s why…the tribe is back in debt again. Layoffs and cutbacks are on the horizon!
When I started out with this fresh idea to create a newsletter and blog to communicate the news to the tribal membership at LCO I didn’t want it to be too negative, and trust me, I do have a handful of positive human interest stories I’m working on for the first newsletter when it comes out next week. Unfortunately, there is something that needs immediate attention and that’s the financial status of the tribe. This is an urgent matter and for that reason you need to attend the General Membership Meeting this Saturday, 9:00 am, at the LCO Casino Bingo Hall.
When the new leadership of our tribe took over just 14 months ago we had a surplus of $3 million in the bank. Today, we have nearly a quarter million in bank overdraft fees. How could this have happened in such a short period of time? You need to go to the meeting and you need to ask the leadership how they could be so fiscally irresponsible to allow all of that Nez Perce money to be squandered this way.
Many of the membership had their own ideas what should have been done with that $7 million dollar bonus when it came in. Most thought it should have been paid out as a per capita payment directly to the tribal membership. Our leaders (at the time) thought it would be a better idea to get the tribe out of debt and put the rest in the bank for operations of the tribe. A surplus would insure a healthier tribe (financially) with more opportunities in the future. Well, guess what. The money is gone and the tribe is already making cuts to programs and tribal services. Very soon we’ll see layoffs and those who don’t get laid off will get their work week cut…again. You suffered through that two years ago in an effort to get the tribe back on track and out of debt, and it worked…only to see it happening again in such a short period of time. If this is what was going to happen to the Nez Perce money, then maybe the right thing would have been to give the membership that money in a direct payment because our leaders squandered it away anyways. Within months we’ll be right back where we were just three years ago. In debt, overdraft fees and soon, getting loans to pay down debt, followed by liens put on our tribal lands.
This is why it is so important that you attend the meeting and ask your leadership why. Why have they allowed such a large surplus to be squandered away in such a short period of time? Sure, the tribe has a lot of expenses including some enterprises that put a major strain on the tribe and it doesn’t help that our casino revenues are way down due to poor management, but prior to the Nez Perce money coming, our tribal leaders (at the time) had put together some action plans to get the tribe operating in a fiscally responsible way. Some of these actions included a business board to oversee enterprises, financial meetings held every two weeks, and most importantly, accountability. Tribal managers were held accountable for their operations. There were many other positive actions aimed at getting the tribe back on track, which included a large grant from the Shakopee Tribe. Then, as all of these things were in full swing, a gift came along…the Nez Perce money. Since that time, the new leadership abandoned all of those action plans. And now where are we?
Ask yourself, are we better off financially? If you were unaware of the track we’ve been on, then now is the time to find out what’s happening by attending the General Membership Meeting and asking the leadership.
What most of you don’t realize is that in addition to poor spending habits, our casino revenues are way down. I wrote about the casino and all the changes (not for the better) taking place up there two weeks ago. In that article, I talked about how we’re heading into the long and cold winter and the tourists will be gone. The locals are already upset with the way the casino has been run…bingo cut back, table games cut back, slot points cut back. And now, many of our people will be suffering from layoffs and lower wages, so do you think they will be able to go to the casino? During the winter months, we’ve always had to depend on local traffic and it’s not going to be there. This means one thing…while the tribe is already robbing Peter to pay Paul there will be much less revenue coming into the tribal coffers from the casino making a bad situation much worse.
What happens in your household when you spend more than you make? The answer is a no-brainer. So, why would our leaders think they could spend us into debt in just one year?
Attend the meeting. Ask about the quarter of a million dollars in overdraft fees. Ask about the $3 million dollar surplus and where it is. Ask about the casino revenues and just how down they have become over the past three years.
One final note, the tribal council took a vote recently whether to extend the contract of our casino manager and they voted 4-3 to keep him despite how poorly it’s been run. The voters in favor of extending his contract were Chairman Mic Isham, Vice Chairman Rusty Barber, Norma Ross and “Little Guy” Gary Clause. Those who voted against extending his contract were Don Carley, Larry Kagigebi and Gordon Thayer.
If the tribe is going to stop this descent before Christmas bonuses are cut out this year, workers are cut back to 32 hours, elder services are all but gone, tribal lands are in hawk to the bank and overdraft fees climb up to half a million, something has to be done now. Enterprises need to be accountable, tribal leadership needs to be fiscally responsible and our casino needs a new direction back to where it was just a few years ago…when it was fun.
These are the reasons why you should attend the General Membership Meeting and demand some answers. Find out for yourselves just how long our tribe has before these things happen so that when you get that memo informing you about your new 32 hour work week, or worse yet, you’ve been laid off, you won’t be surprised.
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