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Fort Hall business council calls meeting |
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Monday, 13 October 2008 |
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By Emily Hone FORT HALL — A called meeting of the general membership of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes has been scheduled for Nov. 8 by Fort Hall Business Council Chairman Alonzo Coby, but information on an agenda was unavailable.
According to the Tribes’ Constitution and By-laws, the chairman is obligated to call a meeting of the general membership upon petition of 150 registered voters.
Such a petition was turned in Oct. 3 by a group asking that a meeting be called within 30 days, but staff in the business office said the Nov. 8 meeting had already been scheduled.
According to a news release issued by the group requesting the called meeting, concerns about some of the financial transactions that have taken place, and the speed with which it’s happening, prompted them to conduct a formal petition drive in which they collected 176 signatures of registered voters to compel the chairman to announce a called meeting.
Tribal member Sherwin Racehorse, who is listed as the contact person for the news release, said the group is concerned about the “quickened pace of the Tribal Council to obligate tribal resources in recent multi-million dollar investments and loans without seeking discussion and approval of the general membership.”
Racehorse said one of the things they want to discuss at the meeting is requiring a referendum vote of the general membership when future loans and investments are being considered.
He said recent changes to the Tribes’ Gaming Distribution Plan and potential impacts to the per capita distribution from revenues are of primary concern to the membership.
They also have questions about the impact loan repayment will have on tribal departments dependent upon gaming revenues Racehorse said.
“The petition requests a detailed accounting of tribal government budgets, including present and future investments and current and future loans regarding economic and community development,” the news release said.
“As early as January 2008 in Reservation District meetings, Tribal Council members informed the membership that their requests to have called meetings on educatIon, attorney contracts, and gaming issues was turned down by majority decision of the council,” the news release says.
“The people are concerned about the lack of transparency in the Tribes’ financial dealings, and we want some answers,” Racehorse said. “We believe as tribal members who are stockholders in the tribal enterprises, we’re entitled to know what’s going on.”
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 15 October 2008 )
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