President Shirley says Friday special session is unnecessary

By Karen Francis
Diné Bureau

WINDOW ROCK — Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley Jr. said that the convening of a special session by the Navajo Nation Council to override his veto of $17 million in appropriations would be a large and unnecessary expense when a regular session is only a month away.

Speaker Lawrence T. Morgan, Iyanbito/Pinedale, announced a special session for Friday. The special session has three agenda items, including legislation to override the presidential veto, an appropriation for $200,000 to the Navajo Department of Justice, and an item to confirm Quincy L. Natay to a three-year term on the board of directors for the Navajo Nation Gaming Enterprise.

The president’s office stated that the cost of a regular or special session of Council is approximately $13,833 per day for 87 delegates. The speaker is not included in the calculation provided by the Navajo Nation Controller’s office.

In a news release, the president’s office stated that the total possible cost swells to $35,583 if delegates also attend caucus meetings, which delegates are paid $250 each for attending.

“The Speaker of the Navajo Nation Council needs to exercise leadership in the prudent spending of the peoples’ money instead of being a leader in the unwise use of the peoples’ money,” Shirley said.

Budget and Finance Committee Chairman LoRenzo Bates, Upper Fruitland, noted the speaker is bound to move forward with the special session if the Council obtains the required number of signatures. He added that special sessions are budget line items.

Mariano Lake/Smith Lake delegate Young Jeff Tom, who is sponsoring the legislation to override the president’s veto, said that the funds will provide direct services to the people and Navajo chapters are anticipating the revenues.

“Our Navajo people need assistance out there, and this veto is preventing them from receiving the benefits of these direct services. Our veterans, our elderly, our children, our people are the ones that will lose,” Tom said.

However, at least one Council delegate agrees with Shirley and wrote a letter to the speaker to say that a special session is unnecessary and costly.

“We should use the monies to extend water lines, power lines and telecommunication lines for the benefit of the Navajo people rather than spending it to hold an unwarranted and costly special session,” said Leonard Tsosie who represents Pueblo Pintado, Whitehorse Lake and Torreon chapters.

The Council has until the next regular session to override a presidential veto, which requires at least 59 votes to pass. The original legislation had passed with 60 votes in favor, 10 opposed on Feb. 26.

On March 10, the president vetoed the $17 million appropriation after the $1 million he requested for the Navajo Nation Department of Emergency Management ballooned with the addition of various amendments on the Council floor.

In a news release, Shirley also cited concerns about the repeated waiver of Navajo law to make supplemental appropriations.

The Council voted to take the money from the grant reserve fund balance, which was supposed to be part of a fund to reimburse expenses for capital projects, according to the president’s office.

“The Navajo Nation laws are there for a purpose, and we need to follow the laws instead of waiving them all the time,” Shirley said.

Because they were added as amendments from the floor, also known as “riders,” the Office of Management and Budget, executive branch divisions and the Council’s own oversight committees were not given the opportunity to review them or make recommendations, the president’s office said.

Tsosie was in agreement and wrote in his letter to Morgan, “Using funds for purposes other than what it was intended for is a dangerous precedent.

OMB director Dominic Beyal said that the OMB had recommended support for the Division of Public Safety disaster assistance emergency appropriations but found the riders “very questionable.”

“It is unfortunate that the government now makes it a regular practice to bypass the laws which are there to promote fair, just and wise budget decisions,” Beyal wrote.

“OMB repeats the recommendation that the Navajo government follow applicable laws and policies, and not waive them, so sound, prudent, and planned budget decisions addressing essential priorities can be made,” Beyal said.

About $2 million would go to the delegates for discretionary funds, which are usually intended to issue as financial assistance to constituents. The president’s office stated that in FY 2007, the Council appropriated $9.6 million for discretionary financial assistance, of which $2 million was carried over to FY 2008. This fiscal year, $7.1 million has already been allocated to discretionary funds, of which $1.5 million remains unspent.

“Every other Navajo government entity operates for a full year within budgeted funds, but this particular cost is treated differently and without regard to other pressing priorities,” Beyal wrote. “The Legislative Branch is created to legislate and not administer programs/services that the Executive Branch is responsible for. This financial assistance cost has now become the largest expense in the Legislative Branch.”

“No other branch in the Navajo government has the luxury of appropriating funds for its own purposes, without review, off of the Council floor, and without the input of the people or affected parties,” Beyal said.