The packet prepared by the Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin’s Business Committee for the October 26, 2014 GTC Meeting includes six options regarding how GTC might address a vacancy on the BC and states that cost of addressing the vacancy includes the cost of the meeting itself — $200,000.
Only one option will save the Tribe around $500,000, and that’s if GTC votes to leave the position vacant.
In the packet that is labeled Option F.
Motion from the floor to direct that the remainder of the vacant BC position shall remain vacant.
GTC Meeting Packet Option F to Leave Vacant BC Position
The other five options will cost the Tribe around $700,000 by adding a new BC member and an assistant.
Here’s the math:
Say the average salaries of BC members and their assistants are:
- OBC member: $55k per year
- OBC Exec. Assistant: $45k per year
That’s $100k per year without benefits/office supplies/equipment/travel costs, so more realistically the cost would be around $130k per year, or $390k.
- $130k X 3 year term = $390k
That doesn’t include the $300 per month that BC members are said to receive for life after leaving office.
If the replacement is 45 years old and serves one term (3 years) and lives to be 78, the cost to the Tribe is an additional $108k.
- 30 years x 12 months x $300/month = $108k.
So the real cost of filling the vacancy is around $700k.
- $200k + $390k + $108k = $698k
GTC could save ~$500k by voting to not fill the BC vacancy!
- $698k – $200k = $498k
GTC has TWO choices:
1. Spend around $700k by filling the BC vacancy.
2. Save around $500k by leaving the BC position vacant.
So what is the motive for not making the real costs of filling the vacancy more explicit in the GTC Meeting Packet?
It’s been fairly obvious that some BC members are rooting for Danelle Wilson to fill the vacancy. Her boss, Ron Tehassi Hill Jr., basically used his column in the Kalihwisaks as a campaign advertisement & endorsement for her. The packet seems designed to gloss over the major cost differences between appointing her as the General Election runner-up versus leaving the position vacant.
As for the statement in the meeting packet that says each of the options to fill the vacancy “Recognizes the history of filling vacancies,” GTC must recognize that the Tribe is so broke right now that the BC passed BC Resolution 09-24-16-A, ‘Continuing Cost Containment Resolution for Fiscal Year 2015,’, which includes:
- Ongoing Comprehensive Hiring Freeze
- Suspend All Wage Increases
- Overtime Reduced
- Elimination of Travel
- Delays All Consulting Contracts
- Delays All Donations & Sponsorships
- Suspend Capital Improvement Projects
And the Election Board has been scrimping on election costs by cutting corners by: not using a tabulation machine at the Milwaukee polling site for the Judiciary election; swearing in hand-picked alternates to do the hand count just two days before the Judiciary election to save money on travel costs for Election Board members; and not filming vote tabulation done by hand as required by the BC Resolution that established the Milwaukee polling site.
The vote tabulation machine that was used at the Oneida polling site was left in an Election Board member’s car overnight before the Judiciary election and was too cold to operate for at least the first hour of voting, and early voters were told to leave their ballots in an unsecured file folder on top of the machine. [Oneida Eye has heard that the unnamed Election Board member resigned, but have not been able to confirm this.]
As for the statement in the GTC Meeting packet regarding not filling the position, “Workload may shift as the Legislative Operating Committee has one less member,” due to the Tribe’s current budget crisis the BC recently voted unanimously for BC Resolution 09-24-14-Q, ‘Emergency Amendments to the Oneida Personnel Polices and Procedures Regarding Job Duties and Reassignments,’ which:
- Allows employees’ job duties to be permanently increased to include work from other divisions & departments no increase in pay.
- Denies employees’ right to claim that being permanently assigned extra work from other areas of the Tribe without a pay increase is an adverse employment action.
- Affirms the right to discipline employees who refuse to do extra work from other areas of the Tribe without a pay increase.
Given the BC’s vote to approve that kind of treatment of employees, the BC should have no objections about taking on other duties themselves with no increase in their pay.
[Oneida Eye has heard rumors that the BC has discussed giving themselves a pay raise, and we’ll report what we find out!]
Even if leaving the BC position vacant only saves the Tribe half of what’s projected above, it still makes sense to vote for Option F and leave the BC position vacanct.
