Edward Sifuentes of the North County Times has the story
A North County tribe was ordered last month to pay the county $3 million for failing to make payments for public safety and other services under an agreement signed in 2005, according to court documents.
The Santa Ysabel Band of Mission Indians struck the agreement with San Diego County in January 2005 as a condition of the tribe's gambling deal with the state.
The money was supposed to help pay for the off-reservation effects of the casino, including additional law enforcement, emergency and fire services.
The payments were also supposed to help pay for gambling addiction programs and the prosecution of casino-related crimes.
Santa Ysabel Casino opened in April 2007 but apparently failed to generate the kind of revenue the tribe anticipated. OP: Apparently means that the books are not open and the tribe self-audits
According to the county, the tribe never made any payments, about $600,000 a year.
After nearly three years of missed payments, the county asked for arbitration negotiations in January 2010, according to court documents.
Attorneys for the tribe did not dispute that Santa Ysabel owed the county money, but they said it owed less, according to court documents
OP: Well, at least we didn't hear about sovereignty being used to justify non payment....yet. The tribe also qualified for $1.1 million PER YEAR in payments from larger tribes. That should have been used to pay for services.
2 comments:
They should garnish their distribution of the mitigation dispursement.
Is there interest tacked onto the balance?
county froze accounts this week!
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