Navajo vote to use millions for shortfall projects

By John Christian Hopkins
Diné Bureau

WINDOW ROCK — Delegate Omer Begay Jr.’s effort to use $22.3 million from the Unreserved, Undesignated Fund to fund various shortfall projects on the reservation received a warmer reception from the Transportation and Community Development Committee Monday than it did a week earlier from the Budget & Finance Committee.

The Transportation and Community Development Committee passed Begay’s legislation unanimously.

Last week, Begay’s bill received a lukewarm reception at B & F, before it was ruled out of order by B & F Chairman LoRenzo C. Bates.

“A lot of these projects are being vandalized as we sit here discussing them,” Begay said.

But the Transportation and Community Development Committee ’s Jerry Bodie — a former B & F committee member — raised the same concern that had arisen a week earlier: was there enough money in the UUF to do this?

At it’s current level, the UUF holds about $10 million.

“I believe there will be enough,” Begay responded. He said additional money was expected to be placed in the UUF before the winter session.

The projects on the shortfall list have been planned for months, Begay said. It is time they were completed, he added.

Shortfall projects are those that have begun, but need additional funds to complete.

The list is based on the capital improvements priority plan, said Casey Begay, director of the  Capital Improvement Office.

Among the questions raised by B & F last week were the number of Head Start projects and how the priority list was put together.

Delegate Hoskie Kee questioned the Head Start projects because only a few weeks ago the program lost $10 million that it had to return to the federal government because it wasn’t spent in time.

Delegate Lorenzo Curley was concerned that some of the projects seemed to be more extravagant that necessary.

His chapter, Lupton, was seeking $600,000 to complete its senior center, while White Cone asked for $4 million for a similar building, Curley noted.

In the end, Bates ruled it out of order because budget forms were not in place for all the projects.

“Are all the budget forms in place?” Transportation and Community Development Committee Vice Chairman Johnny Naize asked.

“Yes,” Begay said.

The Transportation and Community Development Committee passed the bill by a 6-0 vote.

John Christian Hopkins can be reached at hopkins1960@hotmail.com