Chapters slow to certify under Local Governance Act

By John Christian Hopkins
Diné Bureau

WINDOW ROCK — When the Local Governance Act was passed nearly a decade ago, it was supposed to pave the way for Navajo Nation chapters to handle their own affairs. Though it was part of the law that all chapters would become certified, to date only six of the 110 chapters have done so. That has members of the Budget & Finance Committee wondering why.

If the Nation's auditor general finds mismanagement within the chapter's financing, it can recommend a Corrective Action Plan that the chapter agrees to follow, or it can request sanctions up to 10 percent of the chapter's funding and 20 percent of pay owed to chapter officials.

B & F must approve either the CAP or sanctions. Of all these types of cases that come before B & F there seems to be one common thread, according to Chairman LoRenzo C. Bates.

"These chapter officials claim there are not receiving any support from the LGSC," Bates said. "That assistance is not being provided."

The Local Governance Services Center was set up to assist chapters in becoming certified in 1998; it falls under the auspices of the Department of Community Development.

LGSC basically spent the first two years providing training, said Harvey McKerry, senior planner for the Fort Defiance LGA.

"A lot of servicing has been done," said DCD's Deputy Director Stanley Yazzie. "I strongly question why chapters are saying no services are being provided."

The LGSC always makes itself available to meet with chapter officials and frequently attends chapter meetings, Yazzie explained. LGSC is committed to helping every chapter adopt the Five Management System, he said. "The only thing I can come up with as to why some chapters are saying this is because their officials are not involved," Yazzie said.

If LGSC staff meet with chapter officials but those officials do not report back to their communities, it might seem to the layman that LGSC is being negligent, Yazzie said.

"I know at the time when I was a council delegate, some of those things were happening," Yazzie added. "It falls back on the chapter."

Chapter officials often complain that LGSC does not provide assistance on site, suggested B & F Vice Chairman Leonard Chee.

"They're doing the job that was given to them," said Arbin Mitchell, acting DCD director.

Like many tribal departments, the LGSC is understaffed and does not have the personnel to keep a constant presence at each chapter, Mitchell said. The workload was particularly heavy this year because council gave chapters a lot of supplemental appropriations, Mitchell said. "They gave them a lot of money. I even lost track," Mitchell said.

The more money the chapters have, the greater likelihood of finding fiscal irregularities, he explained.

Other things have also hampered progress, McKerry said. For example, chapter elections mean new officials have to be trained; and the sheer vastness of distances between communities makes it difficult to be there often, he said. "We continue to do the best we can," McKerry said.

Committee member Lorenzo Curley said follow-up visits by LGSC staff are not taken seriously. "I am concerned. You leave it up to the chapters to solve these issues," Curley said.

"We could sit here all day, listing problems," Chee said.

B & F's Nelson Begaye agreed. He said the committee should hold a joint work session with LGSC and the Transportation and Community Development Committee to hash out all these issues and try to find some solutions.

LGSC's report to B & F is "one-sided," Bates noted. He wanted to see a more balanced report, with chapter officials getting a chance to have some input, he said.

LGSC agreed to provide such a report to B & F within 45 days.

John Christian Hopkins can be reached at hopkins1960@hotmail.com or by calling 505-371-5443