Tribal Council approves three supplemental budgets

By Dean Rhodes &

Danielle Harrison

Smoke Signals staff

Tribal Council approved three supplemental budgets during its Wednesday, Aug. 23, meeting that amended the approved 2023 spending plan.

The first supplemental budget will provide an additional $250,000 in funding for the new Emergency Management building being constructed off McPherson Road in Grand Ronde. Funding will come from American Rescue Plan Act monies received by the Tribe.

The second supplemental budget will allocate $2.326 million in additional funding for the first phase of the home ownership project being developed at the end of McPherson Road east of Grand Ronde Road. The monies will come out of the Housing Endowment Fund.

The third supplemental budget will provide $542,000 to purchase two properties: $396,000 for the 10-acre Powley property in Grand Ronde and $146,000 for the 0.7-acre Hurliman property in Tillamook County next to the Tribe’s Bay City acreage. The property purchases will be paid for using the Gaming Dividend Fund.

The 2023 budget has now been amended five times with supplemental budgets.

Tribal Council also set the agenda for the Sunday, Sept. 10, General Council meeting. It will be held at 11 a.m. in Tribal Council chambers and via Zoom. The topic will be an update on Spirit Mountain Casino, held in executive session for Tribal members only. Tribal Council election results will also be announced.

In other action, Tribal Council:

• Approved a resolution authorizing Public Works Coordinator John Mercier to apply for Federal Transit Administration grants on behalf of the Tribe and have an annual certification conducted by the Tribal attorney;
• Approved the renewal of an agreement between the Oregon Department of Transportation and the Tribe to provide operating funding for transportation services in and around the Grand Ronde community;
• Approved the renewal of a second agreement between ODOT and the Tribe to provide operating funding for public transportation services in and around the Grand Ronde community;
• Approved an agreement to extend the $140,000 Salmon Strength Initiative consultant contract and to amend the contract to include an additional $115,000 to hire a coordinator;
• Approved a memorandum of understanding and transportation agreement with the Tillamook County Transportation District to continue bus service between Lincoln City, Grand Ronde and Salem through June 2025;
• Approved applying for a $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service that would increase the amount of high quality, nutritious and traditional foods for Tribal members in the community;
• Approved applying for a $373,250 grant from the U.S. Administration for Community Living, Administration on Aging, to increase the availability of nutritious and traditional foods for Tribal Elders;
• Approved a voluntary relinquishment of membership in the Tribe and approved the enrollment of three infants into the Tribe because they meet the requirements outlined in the Tribal Constitution and Enrollment Ordinance.

Also included in the Aug. 23 Tribal Council packet were approved authorizations to proceed that included implementing a 160-hour paid parental leave policy for Tribal government employees for the birth or adoption of a child. If both parents are employed at the Tribe, they will each be eligible for the 160 hours provided they meet the policy qualifications outlined in the employee handbook.

The second was to authorize the Tribe’s Cultural Resources Department to enter into a $200,000 contract with Doug Deur to research and write a report for the Interstate Bridge Replacement Project cultural context and oral histories support. The funding will come from an intergovernmental agreement signed in June.

In other business, Tribal Council approved the $4,838 purchase of the Really Great Reading program for Tribal youth to help improve literacy for students in kindergarten through high school.  

To watch the entire meeting, visit the Tribal government’s website at www.grandronde.org and click on the Government tab and then Videos.