Details, Details

It seems like forever ago that we hired ECONorthwest to advise us on how better we might conduct our business.  In actuality, that was only four years ago.  But in Council years it might was well have been a lifetime.

In the very end, we did not accept all of ECO's recommendations.  I might more accurately say we didn't accept even a majority of their advice.  But what we did accept, and have since then molded and fashioned according to our tastes and preferences, is the Tribal Council Operating Procedures.

We had a very constructive, if scattered, meeting on those guidelines again today.  The last time we tackled the operating procedures was back in autumn, but enough has transpired recently to merit another look, in particular how we make decisions.

The still infamous Polk County Sheriff's Report/Leno Letter sparked a series of Records of Instructions.  The first was to mail the PCSR to the General membership.  The second was to somehow include the entire report in an issue of Tilixam Wawa.  The third was to allow those named in the report the chance to include a response in original mailout.  The fourth was to send out the original audit that was turned over the the police.  Only the first one passed.

This is not the first time multiple committee sheets have been circulated regarding the same issue.  In 2007 while trying to manifest some sort of decision on a Constitutional amendment on enrollment we ended up doing at least four, maybe even five different ROI's on the exact language.  We ended up going with the one with five signatures.  What was different this time around was only one got five signatures, as there was a noticeable lack on nine signatures on most of them.  One ROI disappeared briefly, for what seemed like a couple of days.  I am still not sure what happened.

Numerous questions abound.  Can one ROI supersede the other?  Do Council comments affect the intent of the ROI?  Can a Council member remove the ROI from consideration?  What if a ROI, like the one calling for the release of the audit, fractures a Tribal law?  Should the requestor be required to list their name as the requestor, instead of just generically Tribal Council?

It was an interesting discussion, to say the least.  In the past we adjusted the language so that committee sheets could only be introduced during a formal meeting, eliminating the practice of Council members drafting and ROI and collecting signatures in private.  There still appeared to be flaws in our system.  Ultimately, we decided to reserve nearly all votes, including ROI's, for Tuesday mornings, where they could be vetted and discussed openly.  There will be exceptions in the case of emergencies, which I'm sure at one point will be tested.  Tuesdays, already with Legislative Action Committee, have become legislative holy days.  Right now, I am okay with it.

It's true, that whole thing about the devil being in the details.