Blackfeet Nation 5 hrs · Joseph J. McKay 6 hrs · Edited Well I just realized that I havent done a report in a couple of months. I guess that I was too caught up in trying to get the Constitutional reform effort going and just trying to help take care of tribal matters. And, like everyone out there, I have had my share of personal/family problems to work through. However, the last day of the year seems like a good time to do another update. I thought that I would take some time to talk about the Tribes enterprises. I was just looking back on the Great Falls Tribune article that ran when we were first sworn into office back in July; the headline contained the words hope and transparency. This report falls under the heading of transparency. Over the past months I have seen a lot of talk about the Casino, including whether it is ever going to pay back to the community and its general status. There have also been questions about the store and the hotel. So here is the financial status of all three businesses up to the end of November. According to latest financial statements, the Glacier Peaks Casino and Lil Peaks Casino (the store casino) brought in a total gross income (income before expenses) of approximately $9,624,711.00. After payment of all expenses associated with operating both casinos, they earned a combined total net profit of approximately $1,037,274.00. The Glacier Peaks Casino has approximately $611,553 left to pay on its long term loan. The majority of the Casinos customers/gamblers are from the local community. That means that of the $9,624,711 in total revenue, much of that money is being taken out of the community economy. Considering a total payroll of about $3,645,000 for 208 employees, the Casino/gambling operation is still taking about $6,000,000 out of the community economy. It seems clear that the Casino will never be at the point where it can be used to pay a significant annual per capita payment to the People. Even if we took all of the profit for this year to date and paid that out in a per capita payment, it would only amount to about $73.00 per member (there are currently 14,253 tribal members). However, in my view, it is time for the Casino to start contributing to the operation of the Tribe. The Tribal Council did not initially budget for a per capita payment when the budget was set in September. However, one commitment which I made when I ran for office was to try to make Christmas per capita payment; especially since no per capita payment was made last year. In mid-November, after a brief discussion ,the Tribal Council agreed that this was something that we needed to do. So when I was trying to put together money for the Christmas per capita payment, I thought that we could get the casino to contribute. However, when I tried to make that happen, I basically got my hands slapped by the Casino management and was even accused of trying to violate the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act and putting the Casino in jeopardy of losing its gaming license. Under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, any per capita payment made from casino profits must be in a distribution plan approved by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Per capita payments from the Casino are also subject to federal income taxes. So the Casino did not contribute to the Christmas per capita payment. It was my understanding and to my disappointment, that the Siyeh Board and Casino management did not want to contribute to the per capita payment. After educating myself, I learned that profits from the Casino can be used to help fund tribal governmental operations without approval from the BIA. Consequently, in a recent meeting with the Siyeh Board and Casino management, the Tribal Council made clear that from now on, the Casino was going to contribute to Tribal governmental operations. Particularly the Casino can and needs to contribute to payment of the Tribes own debts. The Tribal Council recently had to borrow $7,750,000 to repay federal funds used to fund the Tribes government operations and to make required loan payments on land purchases. (More on this later) Money from the Casinos profits can and will be used to help make the payments on this loan. The next tribal business, in terms of length of operation, is the Glacier Family Foods. The grocery store was funded with a Tribal equity contribution of approximately $2,435,000 and a loan of approximately $5,500,000. This means that the grocery store is still paying a significant amount in loan payments each month. In the early part of a loan, the majority of the payment goes to pay the interest and only a small portion goes to pay the principle amount. As time goes on, and the interest is paid down, more of the payment goes to reduce the actual principal balance of the loan. The grocery store has been in business for about two years. As of this point, it is struggling and has yet to become profitable. In fact the store has lost money in both of its full years of operation. From January to November of 2014, the store had total income of approximately $5,739,965 , and total expenses of about $6,162,,054. As a result the store lost about $422,089 this year. Last year, the store lost about $287,595 through the same 11 month period. The grocery store is operated under the supervision of the Siyeh Corporation. We, the Blackfeet People, own Glacier Family Foods, The Blackfeet Tribe is ultimately responsible for payment of the loan if the store cannot pay that loan off. It seems clear to me that we need to be more supportive of our own store, and that it needs to work harder to earn the Peoples business. While I understand that Teeples IGA also employees local tribal members, we must make an effort to support our own tribal businesses. The next major Tribal business is the Holiday Inn Express hotel. That business was also stared with a substantial loan of about $5.5 million dollars. The monthly loan payment, which just went into full effect in this fall, is about $46,000 per month. Additionally, I just learned that the Tribe also borrowed about $2.0 million dollars from Blackfeet Housing to put into the hotel. That money will also have to be paid back at some point. The hotel has now been business for about a year and a half. From January 1, 2014 through November 30, 2014, the hotel had total income of about $1,686,679 and total expenses of about $1,824,887. Which means that the hotel lost about $138,208.00 so far this year. Keep in mind that because of our location, the hotel is like the hotels and motels in East Glacier; that is that the primary business months are during the summer tourist months and that during the winter, occupancy and therefore income drops off significantly. Another issue with the hotel is that it is costing about $275,000 per year to have the Holiday Inn brand name attached to the hotel. Whether that brand name is worth the cost is a significant issue to be considered. For example, the Confederated Salish and Kootenai just dropped the Best Western brand from their hotel in Polson (the Kwa Tuk Nuk) and they are building a new hotel complex on Evaro Hill near Missoula with no brand on the hotel. It seems to me that if we offer clean rooms, in a safe environment, at reasonably competitive prices, we might not need a brand name or we could maybe go with a brand that does not cost as much. Bottom line is that the Holiday Inn brand is sucking a quarter of a million dollars a year out of the profits of the hotel. Can we continue to afford that cost? I am also concerned that the agreement for the Holiday Inn franchise and the hotel management agreement may have legal problems. Finally, as I understand the plan, the hotel was supposed to compliment and support the casino and vice-versa. It seems to me that this has not occurred to the fullest extent possible. The hotel is operated under a separate tribal corporate entity which was called Blackfeet Hospitality Inc.. At present, until some of the legal issues are resolved, the entire Tribal Council sits as the Board of Blackfeet Hospitality. That may change in the future. Finally, the Tribe also has three (3) other smaller enterprises operated under the Siyeh umbrella. The cable television station (Starlink Cable), the internet provider (Oki Communications) and the Blackfeet Heritage Center (the old Scriver Museum). All three of these businesses are operating at a loss - none of these businesses are currently profitable. There are going to be those who will say that I shouldnt have made this information public. However, if you believe in transparency and the Peoples right to know, as I do, then to me, this was the right thing to do. I hope that you all agree. Whether the current structure and form of Blackfeet Tribal government is conducive to good business operation is something that we all need to consider. Most of us have already agreed that the current form of tribal government does not work from a governmental standpoint. I encourage everyone to become involved in the Constitutional Reform effort. That is where we can address and begin to solve some of these problems. We need your voice, input and support. I intend to make more of an effort to keep you informed and to discuss honestly and openly the issues facing the Blackfeet People. Coming next, the reason for the loan mentioned above and a couple of proposed oil and gas deals. Be thinking about where you stand on the issue of fracking. I will be asking for your input and comments soon. It is now almost the end of 2014. So let me take this opportunity to once again thank everyone out there who has supported me, offered encouragement and advice, and who have support the effort to change our current system of government. All in all, I believe that while the first half of 2014 was a disaster for Blackfeet Tribal Government and the Blackfeet People, the second half has been much more productive and positive. I look forward to a positive year of continued change and improvement. We can only solve our problems by honestly assessing those problems and having an open, honest and transparent dialogue with you, the Blackfeet People. I wish you all a better, brighter, positive and joyous New Year in 2015. Good health to each of you and your families. With your strength, support and prayers, I will continue to work for the good of all the Blackfeet People and a better form of government. As always, Creators blessings to you all on this beautiful last night of 2014. Love, light, happiness and peace to everyone across Blackfoot Country.
Posted on: Thu, 01 Jan 2015 18:20:47 +0000
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