I could hear their voices from my desk. At the time, I was simply trying to organize my office, which some days seems like one of those tasks that never ends. As I strolled out of the office to deposit some empty interoffice envelopes near the desk of our secretary, the voices died down, and all their heads glanced nervously in my direction. Huddled together, in between the three of them was a folder that I casually peered at, and noticed a white sheet of paper with a purple and yellow letterhead. As they quickly nodded their approval in unison, one closed the folder. They all retreated from one another, each walking away with a business-like posture, as if all had been given an assignment and understood their mission.
What was really obvious was that these three individuals clearly did not want me to hear their discussion, much less see that ever-important document they almost seemed to guard with their lives. I chuckled to myself, because there was an element of silliness to it all, the espionage, the subterfuge, the lowered voices and cautious rubbernecking. “Oh, no! Here comes Chris. We’ve all got our cyanide tablets, right?”
I guess you had to be there to appreciate the moment. One doesn’t have to be a genius to understand that there was a little bit of campaign action going on in that huddle, and like any game, war, or any sort of competition with high stakes, you don’t show your hand too early, least of all to the opposition. This day, and this scenario, that opposition was me.
Of course the three people I am writing about now aren’t employees. Nor were they committee members or visitors wanting a glimpse of the Tribe’s leaders at work. They were, and still are, fellow Council members. Between now and the weekend after Labor Day, they have one common, clear and very simple goal: make sure the candidates they support get elected, one of them presumably to replace me.
I am not asking for sympathy in writing this particular posting. How could I, myself having run for Tribal Council three times, each and every time the sole intent to replace somebody who was there? Indeed it would be awfully hypocritical of me to blast anybody for doing what I myself have done. But for some reason this year, and maybe it’s because this time around I am the incumbent, my feelings are a little bit different. I find myself wanting to ask those three individuals who hope to oust me this summer “Okay, let’s suppose you do succeed. And then what?”
To be really honest, I’m not sure they would have an answer. The most immediate changes I would foresee wouldn’t be changes at all. The Chair and Vice-Chair of two years ago would likely resume their former seats. Other than that, I’m not really sure what would change. That is the sad part.
When I was elected three years ago, along with Angie Blackwell and Wesley “Buddy” West, things changed. The way people ran campaigns changed. The face of Tribal government changed. A lot changed. But what changed the most was the way people voted. Grand Ronde’s political spectrum turned very partisan. We replaced some very well-liked and longstanding Council members. I’ve seen us labeled the “new” Council, and the others the “old” Council, or old guard. Us newbies stood for better communication, ethics, and in the context of 2007, the ever-neglected yet oft-acknowledged enrollment/membership requirements dilemma. The old, from what I can tell, stood for “it ain’t broken, so it don’t need fixin’” philosophy, meaning things in the Tribe were fine before.
Well we all know things needed plenty of fixin’ back in 2004, just as there is plenty that needs to be addressed even in 2007, in spite of some of the things we’ve “fixed”. What I am really curious to see, though, is whether that will matter as this year’s Tribal Council election approaches.
Some people near and dear to my heart have said in one form or another they hope I don’t run for re-election. And if I do, they hope I don’t get re-elected. There is no malice in their reasons why, they just don’t like to see me get beat up all the time, even though we all know that comes with the territory. One has said that at 31 years old, I’m doing a job that will age me prematurely. They, like me, anticipate some new lows with this year’s election, since the goal of at least one politically active group of Tribal members is to simply oust me and two others, and who replaces us is largely irrelevant to our opposition. It will be very reminiscent of the 2004 presidential elections, when the battle-cry for half the country was “anybody but Bush”.
Of course none of this will effect my decision to run. I plan to. But I still hope that this year’s election doesn’t turn out to be as nasty as some think. Furthermore, I wish that certain issues, namely the Constitutional amendment on enrollment and membership requirements, don’t get bogged down in partisan bickering and become a casualty of the election. I hope that one camp simply doesn't oppose a good idea just because the opposing side proposed it.
One of the opposing Council members has a habit, not a good one. When this person actually shows up, they usually read the newspaper cover-to-cover or do the crossword puzzle during our work sessions, regardless of whether staff are present or not, regardless of whether their participation is needed in the meeting or not. This might be their subtle way of indicating contempt for me as Chair. Or it might be one way of biding time, pretty confident that within three months I and two others will be gone.
Whatever their reasoning, there really isn’t any good reason for this type of behavior. If this has even been the norm, and I can't help but consider that a possibility, then the change we’ve brought, whether some people agree or not, was so sorely needed.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Monday, May 21, 2007
The Public Records Ordinance
Although we haven't exactly been flooded with requests for the Tribe's new Public Records Ordinance, I've decided to post it here anyway because that is a lot easier than to have people each make individual requests for the document. As you can see, it's a fraction of the length of the actual Federal Freedom of Information Act, but then again we operate a government that is a fraction of a fraction of the United States government.
To be honest, the ordinance itself isn't exactly what I hoped for, in fact some of the language could probably be worked on. I would personally prefer something more liberal and open, but then again we had to draft something that most of Council would be comfortable with and willing to pass. Whoever said that compromise means all parties are equally dissatisfied might have been on to something. Regardless, here it is. I apologize for the length. Keep in mind it's one of our shorter ordinances.
Chris
ORIGINALLY ADOPTED: ___________, 2007
DATE AMENDED:
SUBJECT: Public Records
RESOLUTION NUMBER: ____-07
CONFEDERATED TRIBES OF THE GRAND RONDE COMMUNITY OF OREGON
PUBLIC RECORDS ORDINANCE
TRIBAL CODE § ______
(a) AUTHORITY AND PURPOSE:
(1) The authority for this Ordinance is found in the Tribal Constitution under Article III, Section 1.
(2) The purpose of this Ordinance is to set forth an orderly method for Tribal members to request and receive copies of, or access to, certain Tribal records. The Tribal Council believes that Tribal Administration has a responsibility to inform its members about matters of interest to the entire membership, and that making Tribal records available to Tribal members helps fulfill this responsibility. The Tribal Council further believes that Tribal government should be open and transparent, but recognizes that the protection of Tribal sovereignty and culture prevents disclosure of some Tribal records.
(b) DEFINITIONS: For purposes of this Ordinance, the following terms shall be defined as follows:
(1) “Tribal Administration” means the Tribal Administration of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon, and includes the Tribal Council, executive offices, Tribal Housing Authority, and all programs and departments. Tribal Administration does not include Tribal corporations, Tribal enterprises, or the Grand Ronde Gaming Commission.
(2) “Tribal member” means an enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon.
(3) “Record” includes, but is not limited to, a document, book, paper, photograph, file, sound recording, or machine readable electronic record, regardless of physical form or characteristics, made, received, filed, or recorded in connection with the transaction of Tribal business, whether or not confidential. “Record” does not include:
(A) Materials kept by the Tribe’s Cultural Resources Department which the Department has identified as confidential. For example, the Department may identify records as confidential because they are personal in nature or relate to a non-public cultural site;
(B) Items which the Cultural Resource Department or Records Administrator determine are too fragile to be handled or copied;
(C) Library materials acquired and preserved solely for reference and research purposes;
(D) Publications received by the Tribe;
(E) Messages on voice mail or other telephone message storage and retrieval systems;
(F) Electronic (e-mail) messages; and
(G) Calendars and schedules.
(c) RETENTION, MANAGEMENT, AND DESTRUCTION OF RECORDS:
Tribal Administration shall adopt policies for the retention, management, and destruction of Records that are in its custody. In developing these policies, the value of Records for cultural, historical, legal, administrative, and research purposes will be considered. The Tribe shall abide by any applicable records-retention requirements of the United States and the State of Oregon.
(d) RECORDS ADMINISTRATOR:
(1) The Tribal Council shall name a Records Administrator. It will be the responsibility of the Records Administrator to receive and act upon requests to view or obtain copies of Records.
(2) The Records Administrator shall develop a form for Tribal members to use to request copies of or access to Tribal Administrative Records, and shall ensure that this form is readily available to Tribal members. Among other things, the form shall require the requestor identify the Record requested with sufficient specificity to allow the Records Administrator to locate the Record.
(3) Upon receiving a form requesting access to or a copy of a Record, the Records Administrator shall send the requestor a card, letter, or e-mail acknowledging receipt of the request.
(4) Nothing shall prohibit the Records Administrator from requesting additional information from the requestor to assist him or her in locating the requested Record. The Records Administrator shall have no obligation to search for a Record if, in his or her view, the request lacks sufficient information to locate the Record.
(5) After the Records Administrator determines that he or she has sufficient information to locate a Record, he or she shall proceed to obtain the Record for copying or review; in doing so, the Records Administrator shall avoid unduly interfering with the regular duties of Tribal employees and Officials that may be in possession of the requested Record.
(6) After conducting a reasonable search for a requested Record, the Records Administrator shall notify the Tribal member requesting access to or a copy of the Record that
(A) The Record is available for viewing and/or copying (or if not, the reason why it is not available) and the cost, if any, of copying the Record or opportunities for viewing it; or
(B) Additional information is needed to locate the requested Record.
(7) Inspection of Records shall be at the office of the Records Administrator or at another location at the Tribal offices in Grand Ronde during regular business hours.
(8) If the requested Record is available on the Tribal member webpage, the Records Administrator shall refer the requestor to the webpage and shall have no further obligation to copy the Record or make it available for viewing.
(9) The Records Administrator will not provide electronic versions of Records to requestors.
(10) The Records Administrator shall report quarterly to the Tribal Council on the number of Record requests received, the number of requests satisfied, the costs of satisfying requests, and any recommendations for further legislative action.
(e) TRIBAL RECORDS:
(1) In furtherance of the Tribe’s policy to ensure to its members the right to know about the activities of Tribal government, Records are generally presumed to be available to the Tribal membership.
(2) The following are Records not available for copying or viewing:
(A) Records considered confidential under applicable Tribal, Federal or State laws or policies;
(B) Personal information, including telephone numbers, Social Security numbers, and home addresses;
(C) Personnel, payroll, or other employment-related Records (other than a Tribal member employee’s own personnel file);
(D) Medical Records; including Dental and Mental Health Records;
(E) Social Service Records relating to an individual;
(F) Foster Care Records;
(G) An individual’s housing Records (provided that an individual may obtain copies of or view Records relating to him- or herself);
(H) Records related to any investigation;
(I) Records subject to attorney-client privilege or which might be considered attorney work product;
(J) Records subject to a confidentiality provision;
(K) Records subject to a court order preventing their disclosure;
(L) Records that are in draft form;
(M) Investment Management directives, strategies and actual investment holdings;
(N) Member Services and Finance Department Records relating to an individual (provided that an individual may obtain copies of or view Records relating to him- or herself);
(O) Strategies related to the collection of debts to the Tribe; and
(P) Records, disclosure of which the Tribal Council determines might divulge political or business strategies.
(3) The following Records are available for viewing only through the Records Administrator. These Records may not be copied, photographed, or recorded, either in whole or in part, nor discussed with any non-Tribal member other than a spouse or person in a spousal relationship.
(A) Audited financial statements, including informational notes and disbursements;
(B) The Appropriations Budget;
(C) Investment Policy Statements, including Investment Policy Guidelines; and
(D) Material relating to land acquisition, management, and sale.
(f) INSPECTION OF TRIBAL RECORDS:
(1) Right to view and copy Records:
(A) Only enrolled members of the Tribe have a right to view or obtain copies of Records under this Ordinance.
(B) If a Tribal member, who is a party to a judicial or administrative proceeding to which the Tribe is also a party, makes a request to view or receive a copy of a Record that might relate to the proceeding, he or she must submit an original Records request in writing to the Records Administrator and, at the same time, a copy of the request to the Tribal Attorney.
(C) The Records Administrator shall establish fees reasonably calculated to reimburse the Tribe for its actual cost in making Records available, including costs for compiling, copying, and mailing records, provided that the first twenty
(20) pages of Records shall be copied at no cost to the requestor. The fee schedule shall be included on the form Tribal members use to request access to or copies of Records.
(2) Records Containing Both Exempt and Nonexempt Information: If any Record contains information which is available for copying or review under this Ordinance, as well as information which is exempt from disclosure, the Records Administrator shall separate the exempt and nonexempt information and make the nonexempt information available for copying or examination, through redaction or other means which makes clear that certain information has been withheld from disclosure.
(3) Appeal of Denials:
(A) Any Tribal member denied the right to view or receive a copy of a Record, or portion of a Record, may request that the General Manager, or other person designated in the denial (the “Reviewing Official”), review the Record to determine if it may be provided for inspection or copying under this Ordinance. The burden is on the Records Administrator to show that the Record should not be produced. The Reviewing Official shall issue an order denying or granting the request, or denying it in part and granting it in part, within twenty-one (21) days from the day he or she receives the request.
(B) If the Reviewing Official grants the request and instructs the Records Administrator to disclose the Record, or if the Reviewing Official grants the petition in part and orders the Records Administrator to disclose a portion of the Record, the Records Administrator shall comply with the order in full within fifteen (15) days after issuance of the order. If the Reviewing Official denies the petition in whole or in part, the person seeking disclosure may appeal the decision to the Tribal Court by filing within thirty (30) days of the decision a petition for declaratory relief with the Court. A copy of this petition shall be served on the Records Administrator, the Reviewing Official, and the Tribal Attorney in accordance with the rules of the Tribal Court.
(4) Tribal Court:
(A) In any suit filed under this Ordinance, the Tribal Court has jurisdiction to order the production of Records improperly withheld from the Tribal member seeking disclosure. The Court shall determine the matter de novo and the burden is on the Tribe to establish that the Records should not be released. The Court may view the documents in controversy in private, off the record, before reaching a decision.
(B) If a person seeking the right to view or receive a copy of a Record prevails in his or her suit, the person may be entitled to reasonable court costs and attorneys fees.
(g) INAPPROPRIATE DISCLOSURE AND POSSESSION OF TRIBAL RECORDS:
(1) It shall be a violation of Tribal law for any Tribal Official or employee to provide a Record to someone who is not authorized to have access to the Record under this Ordinance, unless it is otherwise part of the ordinary course of the Tribal Official’s or employee’s position to provide the Record to such person.
(2) It shall be a violation of Tribal law for anyone to knowingly possess or distribute a Record or confidential Tribal document that he or she is not authorized to possess or distribute. Any person found by the Tribal Court to be so in violation of Tribal law shall be subject to a civil fine of $1,000 if it is his or her first violation for possessing or distributing such Record or confidential document. The civil fine shall be $2,000 for a second violation and $3,000 for a third violation. Anyone found by the Tribal Court to be in violation of this Ordinance for possessing or distributing a Record or confidential document for a fourth time, shall lose his or her right to view or obtain copies of Records.
I certify this to be a true copy of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon Public Records Ordinance.
_______________________________
Tribal Council Secretary
To be honest, the ordinance itself isn't exactly what I hoped for, in fact some of the language could probably be worked on. I would personally prefer something more liberal and open, but then again we had to draft something that most of Council would be comfortable with and willing to pass. Whoever said that compromise means all parties are equally dissatisfied might have been on to something. Regardless, here it is. I apologize for the length. Keep in mind it's one of our shorter ordinances.
Chris
ORIGINALLY ADOPTED: ___________, 2007
DATE AMENDED:
SUBJECT: Public Records
RESOLUTION NUMBER: ____-07
CONFEDERATED TRIBES OF THE GRAND RONDE COMMUNITY OF OREGON
PUBLIC RECORDS ORDINANCE
TRIBAL CODE § ______
(a) AUTHORITY AND PURPOSE:
(1) The authority for this Ordinance is found in the Tribal Constitution under Article III, Section 1.
(2) The purpose of this Ordinance is to set forth an orderly method for Tribal members to request and receive copies of, or access to, certain Tribal records. The Tribal Council believes that Tribal Administration has a responsibility to inform its members about matters of interest to the entire membership, and that making Tribal records available to Tribal members helps fulfill this responsibility. The Tribal Council further believes that Tribal government should be open and transparent, but recognizes that the protection of Tribal sovereignty and culture prevents disclosure of some Tribal records.
(b) DEFINITIONS: For purposes of this Ordinance, the following terms shall be defined as follows:
(1) “Tribal Administration” means the Tribal Administration of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon, and includes the Tribal Council, executive offices, Tribal Housing Authority, and all programs and departments. Tribal Administration does not include Tribal corporations, Tribal enterprises, or the Grand Ronde Gaming Commission.
(2) “Tribal member” means an enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon.
(3) “Record” includes, but is not limited to, a document, book, paper, photograph, file, sound recording, or machine readable electronic record, regardless of physical form or characteristics, made, received, filed, or recorded in connection with the transaction of Tribal business, whether or not confidential. “Record” does not include:
(A) Materials kept by the Tribe’s Cultural Resources Department which the Department has identified as confidential. For example, the Department may identify records as confidential because they are personal in nature or relate to a non-public cultural site;
(B) Items which the Cultural Resource Department or Records Administrator determine are too fragile to be handled or copied;
(C) Library materials acquired and preserved solely for reference and research purposes;
(D) Publications received by the Tribe;
(E) Messages on voice mail or other telephone message storage and retrieval systems;
(F) Electronic (e-mail) messages; and
(G) Calendars and schedules.
(c) RETENTION, MANAGEMENT, AND DESTRUCTION OF RECORDS:
Tribal Administration shall adopt policies for the retention, management, and destruction of Records that are in its custody. In developing these policies, the value of Records for cultural, historical, legal, administrative, and research purposes will be considered. The Tribe shall abide by any applicable records-retention requirements of the United States and the State of Oregon.
(d) RECORDS ADMINISTRATOR:
(1) The Tribal Council shall name a Records Administrator. It will be the responsibility of the Records Administrator to receive and act upon requests to view or obtain copies of Records.
(2) The Records Administrator shall develop a form for Tribal members to use to request copies of or access to Tribal Administrative Records, and shall ensure that this form is readily available to Tribal members. Among other things, the form shall require the requestor identify the Record requested with sufficient specificity to allow the Records Administrator to locate the Record.
(3) Upon receiving a form requesting access to or a copy of a Record, the Records Administrator shall send the requestor a card, letter, or e-mail acknowledging receipt of the request.
(4) Nothing shall prohibit the Records Administrator from requesting additional information from the requestor to assist him or her in locating the requested Record. The Records Administrator shall have no obligation to search for a Record if, in his or her view, the request lacks sufficient information to locate the Record.
(5) After the Records Administrator determines that he or she has sufficient information to locate a Record, he or she shall proceed to obtain the Record for copying or review; in doing so, the Records Administrator shall avoid unduly interfering with the regular duties of Tribal employees and Officials that may be in possession of the requested Record.
(6) After conducting a reasonable search for a requested Record, the Records Administrator shall notify the Tribal member requesting access to or a copy of the Record that
(A) The Record is available for viewing and/or copying (or if not, the reason why it is not available) and the cost, if any, of copying the Record or opportunities for viewing it; or
(B) Additional information is needed to locate the requested Record.
(7) Inspection of Records shall be at the office of the Records Administrator or at another location at the Tribal offices in Grand Ronde during regular business hours.
(8) If the requested Record is available on the Tribal member webpage, the Records Administrator shall refer the requestor to the webpage and shall have no further obligation to copy the Record or make it available for viewing.
(9) The Records Administrator will not provide electronic versions of Records to requestors.
(10) The Records Administrator shall report quarterly to the Tribal Council on the number of Record requests received, the number of requests satisfied, the costs of satisfying requests, and any recommendations for further legislative action.
(e) TRIBAL RECORDS:
(1) In furtherance of the Tribe’s policy to ensure to its members the right to know about the activities of Tribal government, Records are generally presumed to be available to the Tribal membership.
(2) The following are Records not available for copying or viewing:
(A) Records considered confidential under applicable Tribal, Federal or State laws or policies;
(B) Personal information, including telephone numbers, Social Security numbers, and home addresses;
(C) Personnel, payroll, or other employment-related Records (other than a Tribal member employee’s own personnel file);
(D) Medical Records; including Dental and Mental Health Records;
(E) Social Service Records relating to an individual;
(F) Foster Care Records;
(G) An individual’s housing Records (provided that an individual may obtain copies of or view Records relating to him- or herself);
(H) Records related to any investigation;
(I) Records subject to attorney-client privilege or which might be considered attorney work product;
(J) Records subject to a confidentiality provision;
(K) Records subject to a court order preventing their disclosure;
(L) Records that are in draft form;
(M) Investment Management directives, strategies and actual investment holdings;
(N) Member Services and Finance Department Records relating to an individual (provided that an individual may obtain copies of or view Records relating to him- or herself);
(O) Strategies related to the collection of debts to the Tribe; and
(P) Records, disclosure of which the Tribal Council determines might divulge political or business strategies.
(3) The following Records are available for viewing only through the Records Administrator. These Records may not be copied, photographed, or recorded, either in whole or in part, nor discussed with any non-Tribal member other than a spouse or person in a spousal relationship.
(A) Audited financial statements, including informational notes and disbursements;
(B) The Appropriations Budget;
(C) Investment Policy Statements, including Investment Policy Guidelines; and
(D) Material relating to land acquisition, management, and sale.
(f) INSPECTION OF TRIBAL RECORDS:
(1) Right to view and copy Records:
(A) Only enrolled members of the Tribe have a right to view or obtain copies of Records under this Ordinance.
(B) If a Tribal member, who is a party to a judicial or administrative proceeding to which the Tribe is also a party, makes a request to view or receive a copy of a Record that might relate to the proceeding, he or she must submit an original Records request in writing to the Records Administrator and, at the same time, a copy of the request to the Tribal Attorney.
(C) The Records Administrator shall establish fees reasonably calculated to reimburse the Tribe for its actual cost in making Records available, including costs for compiling, copying, and mailing records, provided that the first twenty
(20) pages of Records shall be copied at no cost to the requestor. The fee schedule shall be included on the form Tribal members use to request access to or copies of Records.
(2) Records Containing Both Exempt and Nonexempt Information: If any Record contains information which is available for copying or review under this Ordinance, as well as information which is exempt from disclosure, the Records Administrator shall separate the exempt and nonexempt information and make the nonexempt information available for copying or examination, through redaction or other means which makes clear that certain information has been withheld from disclosure.
(3) Appeal of Denials:
(A) Any Tribal member denied the right to view or receive a copy of a Record, or portion of a Record, may request that the General Manager, or other person designated in the denial (the “Reviewing Official”), review the Record to determine if it may be provided for inspection or copying under this Ordinance. The burden is on the Records Administrator to show that the Record should not be produced. The Reviewing Official shall issue an order denying or granting the request, or denying it in part and granting it in part, within twenty-one (21) days from the day he or she receives the request.
(B) If the Reviewing Official grants the request and instructs the Records Administrator to disclose the Record, or if the Reviewing Official grants the petition in part and orders the Records Administrator to disclose a portion of the Record, the Records Administrator shall comply with the order in full within fifteen (15) days after issuance of the order. If the Reviewing Official denies the petition in whole or in part, the person seeking disclosure may appeal the decision to the Tribal Court by filing within thirty (30) days of the decision a petition for declaratory relief with the Court. A copy of this petition shall be served on the Records Administrator, the Reviewing Official, and the Tribal Attorney in accordance with the rules of the Tribal Court.
(4) Tribal Court:
(A) In any suit filed under this Ordinance, the Tribal Court has jurisdiction to order the production of Records improperly withheld from the Tribal member seeking disclosure. The Court shall determine the matter de novo and the burden is on the Tribe to establish that the Records should not be released. The Court may view the documents in controversy in private, off the record, before reaching a decision.
(B) If a person seeking the right to view or receive a copy of a Record prevails in his or her suit, the person may be entitled to reasonable court costs and attorneys fees.
(g) INAPPROPRIATE DISCLOSURE AND POSSESSION OF TRIBAL RECORDS:
(1) It shall be a violation of Tribal law for any Tribal Official or employee to provide a Record to someone who is not authorized to have access to the Record under this Ordinance, unless it is otherwise part of the ordinary course of the Tribal Official’s or employee’s position to provide the Record to such person.
(2) It shall be a violation of Tribal law for anyone to knowingly possess or distribute a Record or confidential Tribal document that he or she is not authorized to possess or distribute. Any person found by the Tribal Court to be so in violation of Tribal law shall be subject to a civil fine of $1,000 if it is his or her first violation for possessing or distributing such Record or confidential document. The civil fine shall be $2,000 for a second violation and $3,000 for a third violation. Anyone found by the Tribal Court to be in violation of this Ordinance for possessing or distributing a Record or confidential document for a fourth time, shall lose his or her right to view or obtain copies of Records.
I certify this to be a true copy of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon Public Records Ordinance.
_______________________________
Tribal Council Secretary
Sunday, May 13, 2007
The Art of Chairing
Less than two weeks ago I made a verbal promise to the rest of Tribal Council. The promise was basically that I would devise some guidelines for our meetings, particularly in terms of speaking order. That probably won’t mean much to the general public, but when your job involves a regular series of meetings on seemingly infinite topics, many of them resulting in major directives to staff, then making sure these sessions are run efficiently and yield clear decisions is kind of like ensuring that all the machinery in a line factory is functioning properly.
A large portion of Tribal Council time is spent in chambers conversing with one another and certain employees in an effort to churn out decisions. That may seem like a pretty simple way of doing work, and prior to being elected I certainly underestimated how hard it was. But now that one of my duties is to actually chair the meetings (meaning run them), I’ve come to the conclusion that having to maintain order in meetings, especially in a civilized manner, is one of the harder tasks you’re likely to be faced with.
As many people probably know, the Tribe like most organizations uses the legendary and universally embraced Robert’s Rules of Order to run meetings. I can’t claim to have ever read any of the numerous books on the rules all the way through, but one of the cornerstones of parliamentary procedure isn’t tough to understand: raise your hand and speak when called on by the person presiding as chair over a meeting.
Of course it gets more complicated and perhaps unclear than that, and was really evidenced by the sadly unfriendly exchange between myself and another Council member at a recent Wednesday night meeting. That incident would be revisited the following morning in a very lengthy discussion in which my now looming promise was made. The reason for the exchange, we were all informed, stemmed from a misunderstanding which in all honesty I feel was never an issue before. Some Council members feel that when a question is posed during a public meeting, I should call on Council before calling on staff, which was contrary to what a number of us understood. A number of us, myself included, think and have always run the meetings under the rule that the chair calls people in the order that they raise their hand. The notion of there being a ranking among speakers wasn’t really something I considered. Thus, my dilemma of developing or finding a system that will work. Keeping order isn’t easy, which I know I’ve already said before but will readily say again, for emphasis.
In addition I must note that the speaking order isn’t ironclad, since some situations almost force people to speak out of order, like a question being posed to somebody which demands a response. However, discussions that go really long require me to keep a list of speakers on a pad of paper. Not everybody agrees with the order in which I call people, and frankly sometimes I forget to mark someone down on my list. You can guess then what it must be like to chair Wednesday night meetings, or General Council meetings, especially when people just start yelling from the audience.
The word “order” in this case also has dual meaning, as I must also not only maintain the proper speaking order, but technically also make sure we stay on topic. Once again that is a notable challenge, since so many topics are related, and people can get caught up in the really sensitive subjects, not just in Council work sessions but public meetings as well. Nobody likes to come off as being rude or insensitive, but then again part of the job of being a Council member, especially the chair, is to ensure efficiency and fairness.
I guess the best way to keep my promise then is to actually sit down and actually read, cover to cover, one of those books on Roberts Rules. I can’t be the first person in this kind of situation, and at the very least, it’ll provide some ideas and more importantly, another book review for my blog here.
A large portion of Tribal Council time is spent in chambers conversing with one another and certain employees in an effort to churn out decisions. That may seem like a pretty simple way of doing work, and prior to being elected I certainly underestimated how hard it was. But now that one of my duties is to actually chair the meetings (meaning run them), I’ve come to the conclusion that having to maintain order in meetings, especially in a civilized manner, is one of the harder tasks you’re likely to be faced with.
As many people probably know, the Tribe like most organizations uses the legendary and universally embraced Robert’s Rules of Order to run meetings. I can’t claim to have ever read any of the numerous books on the rules all the way through, but one of the cornerstones of parliamentary procedure isn’t tough to understand: raise your hand and speak when called on by the person presiding as chair over a meeting.
Of course it gets more complicated and perhaps unclear than that, and was really evidenced by the sadly unfriendly exchange between myself and another Council member at a recent Wednesday night meeting. That incident would be revisited the following morning in a very lengthy discussion in which my now looming promise was made. The reason for the exchange, we were all informed, stemmed from a misunderstanding which in all honesty I feel was never an issue before. Some Council members feel that when a question is posed during a public meeting, I should call on Council before calling on staff, which was contrary to what a number of us understood. A number of us, myself included, think and have always run the meetings under the rule that the chair calls people in the order that they raise their hand. The notion of there being a ranking among speakers wasn’t really something I considered. Thus, my dilemma of developing or finding a system that will work. Keeping order isn’t easy, which I know I’ve already said before but will readily say again, for emphasis.
In addition I must note that the speaking order isn’t ironclad, since some situations almost force people to speak out of order, like a question being posed to somebody which demands a response. However, discussions that go really long require me to keep a list of speakers on a pad of paper. Not everybody agrees with the order in which I call people, and frankly sometimes I forget to mark someone down on my list. You can guess then what it must be like to chair Wednesday night meetings, or General Council meetings, especially when people just start yelling from the audience.
The word “order” in this case also has dual meaning, as I must also not only maintain the proper speaking order, but technically also make sure we stay on topic. Once again that is a notable challenge, since so many topics are related, and people can get caught up in the really sensitive subjects, not just in Council work sessions but public meetings as well. Nobody likes to come off as being rude or insensitive, but then again part of the job of being a Council member, especially the chair, is to ensure efficiency and fairness.
I guess the best way to keep my promise then is to actually sit down and actually read, cover to cover, one of those books on Roberts Rules. I can’t be the first person in this kind of situation, and at the very least, it’ll provide some ideas and more importantly, another book review for my blog here.
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
To speak or not to speak
Tuesday was another one of those days. What I mean by that is from 9 a.m. until nearly 5 p.m., nothing but meetings. As most people know, Tuesday mornings are the days in which we hold our Legislative Action Committee meetings, which basically feature decisions that will eventually become public decisions in our twice-a-month Wednesday night Tribal Council meetings. I wouldn’t say that we made any groundbreaking decisions today, but a point that has always been kind of a sensitive one was raised: how much time should we allow for non-Tribal members to speak at our Tribal Council, General Council, and Community meetings, if any time at all?
While the discussion raged on, I remained silent, not out of cowardice but really out of uncertainty as to what kind of arguments could be mustered. Having been raised by the non-Tribal half of my parentage, and being a big proponent of freedom of speech, and lastly just accepting that non-Tribal parents of Tribal children are really stakeholders, I just can’t bring myself to accept the mentality that we should limit anybody from speaking. Yet there are plenty of people, some maybe even on Council, who feel that the Tribe is for Tribal members, and that non-members have no right speaking at either our Tribal Council or General Council meetings, much less holding opinions on Grand Ronde issues.
I guess there really isn’t a right answer. Many like to compare stakeholders to shareholders, and in a lot of ways they kind of are the same thing. Realistically, a person who doesn’t own stock in a company would have almost no right to show up at the annual shareholder’s meeting and pop off, right? But then again, Tribes aren’t entirely about money. Tribes consist of communities, ones that are comprised of Tribal members and their non-Tribal spouses. Non-Tribal parents charged with protection of their Tribal children, including trust funds that will be worth who knows what come age 21. Come to think of it, when talking about Grand Ronde issues some of the most well-informed and passionate people I know are non-Tribal. And of course we have the people who are proven Grand Ronde descendants, with either thinned blood lines or bad timing (1999 Constitutional Amendment).
One Council member had the good sense to suggest that perhaps we should look at some sort of policy on this issue, instead of just putting the burden on the Tribal Chair (read: me) to make a judgment call during every meeting the issue arises. Maybe that is the proper way to handle the situation, through policy. I’m sure we’ll have a work session on the matter, and I’m equally sure that discussion will be very intense and heated. What I’m not sure is what the outcome will be. I understand why some people feel the need to create some sort of rule. But for some reason shutting down anybody when they take the microphone seems wrong, regardless of who, when, or why. Some rights are truly unalienable, and the right to speak should be one of them.
While the discussion raged on, I remained silent, not out of cowardice but really out of uncertainty as to what kind of arguments could be mustered. Having been raised by the non-Tribal half of my parentage, and being a big proponent of freedom of speech, and lastly just accepting that non-Tribal parents of Tribal children are really stakeholders, I just can’t bring myself to accept the mentality that we should limit anybody from speaking. Yet there are plenty of people, some maybe even on Council, who feel that the Tribe is for Tribal members, and that non-members have no right speaking at either our Tribal Council or General Council meetings, much less holding opinions on Grand Ronde issues.
I guess there really isn’t a right answer. Many like to compare stakeholders to shareholders, and in a lot of ways they kind of are the same thing. Realistically, a person who doesn’t own stock in a company would have almost no right to show up at the annual shareholder’s meeting and pop off, right? But then again, Tribes aren’t entirely about money. Tribes consist of communities, ones that are comprised of Tribal members and their non-Tribal spouses. Non-Tribal parents charged with protection of their Tribal children, including trust funds that will be worth who knows what come age 21. Come to think of it, when talking about Grand Ronde issues some of the most well-informed and passionate people I know are non-Tribal. And of course we have the people who are proven Grand Ronde descendants, with either thinned blood lines or bad timing (1999 Constitutional Amendment).
One Council member had the good sense to suggest that perhaps we should look at some sort of policy on this issue, instead of just putting the burden on the Tribal Chair (read: me) to make a judgment call during every meeting the issue arises. Maybe that is the proper way to handle the situation, through policy. I’m sure we’ll have a work session on the matter, and I’m equally sure that discussion will be very intense and heated. What I’m not sure is what the outcome will be. I understand why some people feel the need to create some sort of rule. But for some reason shutting down anybody when they take the microphone seems wrong, regardless of who, when, or why. Some rights are truly unalienable, and the right to speak should be one of them.
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