Tribe's salaries on the rise

Tribe's salaries on the rise

 

By George Brennan

gbrennan@capecodonline.com

March 08, 2014

 

MASHPEE — For the second year in a row, the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe plans to spend $12.7 million on its efforts to build a casino in Taunton, according to a copy of the tribe's 2014 budget proposal.

 

Most of that money will go to lawyers and consultants.

Deadline for Region C casino may be extended

With two possible commercial casino applicants still interested in Southeastern Massachusetts, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission is considering extending the deadline for the region.

The commission is seeking public comments on extending the deadline for second-phase applications in Region C, as it's known in the 2011 legislation that legalized gambling in the Bay State, beyond July 23, according to commission spokeswoman Elaine Driscoll.

KG Urban Enterprises, which hopes to build a casino in New Bedford, is the lone official applicant for the commercial license. The company is still seeking to connect with a gambling partner for its proposal.

Meanwhile, the Connecticut-based Mashantucket Pequot Tribe is reviewing six possible locations provided by the Fall River Office of Economic Development, according to Ken Fiola, executive director for the city agency.

The commercial license could be influenced by a bid by the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe to build a $500 million Indian casino in Taunton. That application is under federal review and faces significant legal hurdles, which is why the commission opened the region to commercial bids.

Anyone wishing to comment on the Region C deadline is asked to submit comments no later than 10 a.m. March 18.

Comments can be made by email to: mgccomments@state.ma.us.

GEORGE BRENNAN

 

If the budget is approved, the tribe's operational budget would drop $10.2 million overall to $14.8 million, even as tribe salaries double what was spent in 2013, according to the proposed budget. The decrease in costs appears to be because of the completion of the tribe's new headquarters on Great Neck Road South.

 

Tribal Council Chairman Cedric Cromwell would get a 3 percent bump in pay to $127,308. All eight of the tribal council members, who earn salaries totaling more than $575,000 annually, would get 3 percent increases under the proposed budget. Three members of the 11-member tribal council are unpaid.

 

It's unclear who else would benefit from what is an additional $2 million in salaries. There is a $500,000 line item titled "right-sizing" that a tribe source said is to boost salaries for tribe employees who are considered underpaid. There is also a $175,000 salary for a gaming commission executive director, which would be the tribe's highest paid individual, according to the budget.

 

The operational budget is heavily reliant on money from the tribe's casino investors, Arkana Ltd., a company owned by the same Malaysian family that owns Genting Group. Only $2.7 million comes from federal grant programs, according to the budget.

 

Cromwell could not be reached for an interview, said the tribe's spokesman, Paula Gates.

 

The budget is a rare glimpse at the spending of the tribe, which as a sovereign nation is under no obligation to release its budget plans to the general public. The Times obtained a copy from a tribe member. It is scheduled to be reviewed at a question-and-answer session Sunday and voted on March 30, according to the tribe's Facebook page.

 

The budget comes as the tribe's plans for a $500 million casino remain in the hands of the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs, which is reviewing the tribe's application to have 155 acres in Taunton and 171 acres in Mashpee taken into federal trust as the tribe's initial reservation.

 

It's a significant hurdle to the tribe's casino plans, although others, such as the compact with Gov. Deval Patrick, have been cleared.

 

Specifics of how the tribal gaming authority intends to spend the $12.7 million — a loan from its investors — is unclear. That budget is broken down only into a few line items with few details.

 

Consultants will earn $7 million, and $3.2 million will go to "legal," according to the budget.

 

"How can we vote on something when we don't know where the money is being spent?" said a tribe member, who asked that his name not be used.

 

The tribe member said he's hoping the tribal membership will reject the budget, even though it would hurt his own family. "Our spending is out of control," he said.

 

The tribe's $14.8 million general budget is broken down by category, with the biggest reduction being $9.3 million for construction services. Though the decrease is not outlined in any depth, the tribe has completed construction of its government offices at 483 Great Neck Road South, and some tribe offices have already moved into the building.

 

A formal dedication of the building is scheduled for March 29, Gates said.

 

 

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Tribe's debt grows to $70M, members say

Tribe's debt grows to $70M, members say

By George Brennan

gbrennan@capecodonline.com

November 23, 2013

 

Even as its path to casino riches remains uncertain, the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe continues to add debt that has now reached $70 million, according to tribe sources.

 

The two sources, who asked to remain anonymous because they were not authorized to speak, said the tribal council this week voted to borrow an additional $4 million from investors.

Related Links

• Ongoing Times casino coverage

 

The tribe will see only about $3 million of that money because the first $1 million goes to pay interest accruing from Arkana Ltd., a casino company with ties to Genting Group, one of the world's top casino companies, the source said.

 

"This is ridiculous," one of the sources said. "I don't know how to stop the train."

 

The other source said all but three members of the tribal council continue to collect a combined $9,000 per week in salaries, even though a food program for the tribe's low-income families has yet to be restored after it was stopped in August.

 

Tribe leaders declined to comment through spokesman Paula Gates.

 

In the past, tribal council Chairman Cedric Cromwell has said he won't discuss the tribe's finances because he considers them proprietary. The tribe does reveal its spending and budgets at monthly tribe meetings, Cromwell has said.

 

The tribe has proposed building a $500 million casino in Taunton. Though the proposal has won support from city leaders and voters and the tribe has negotiated a compact with Gov. Deval Patrick, the casino still faces significant federal hurdles.

 

The compact is in the hands of the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs, which has 45 days to either approve or reject the deal. Meanwhile, the same agency is reviewing the tribe's extensive application to have 170 acres in Mashpee and 155 acres in Taunton taken into federal trust for its initial reservation. That faces a legal tangle that includes whether the federal government even has the authority to approve the land deal for the tribe because of 2009 U.S. Supreme Court ruling known as the "Carcieri decision."

 

The tribe has said the high court ruling doesn't apply because it was under federal jurisdiction when the Indian Reorganization Act went into effect in 1934.

 

Casino opponents dispute that claim and the BIA has yet to rule.

 

Responding to a request from the Times, Patrick's office said this week that it spent $2.3 million of the $5 million authorized by the Legislature on the two compacts negotiated with the tribe. That money, borrowed from state funds, will be repaid once the state begins receiving revenues from casinos.

 

Gates did not respond to a question asking how much the tribe has spent on legal fees for the two negotiated compacts with Patrick.

 

The first compact was rejected by the BIA because the tribe was not receiving enough concessions from the state for the revenue it agreed to pay.'

 

Tribes cannot be taxed on their casino revenues.

 

 

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Letter to Fall River

Tuesday's vote by the RDA marks a critical moment in the long and noble history of Fall River. It will change the city forever and the repercussions will be felt for generations. Whether you are for or against casino gaming in the Commonwealth, you should know that what could have been, that dream of excellence and prosperity, has been dashed on the rocks of time. The future of Fall River as a family and business friendly, historically appealing, urban open space community is no longer possible.


Do you wish to move to a city with a casino? Do you think that casinos are great places for family fun? Do you want to see your husband, your wife, your kids, lose their paychecks and savings to a group that will offshore the winnings?


If you are against outsourcing, against sending jobs overseas, against NAFTA, then you must also be against this Indian tribe building a casino. Anywhere. The Mashpees have no money. 100% of their funding for this land buy and casino build comes from Arcana, Ltd., a company from Malaysia. When you lose money at the casino, the money goes overseas. It does not stay in the US.


So we get a few jobs, after the tribe gets first dibs on all the high paying ones. And we build a few buildings, but wouldn't those same union construction workers get paid for building a bio-tech facility as they would for building a casino? Isn't a construction job a construction job?


Why was this deal so secret? Why didn't the Mayor involve the citizens in this debate early on? Why the rush when gaming isn't even legal in the Commonwealth? Why tie up this choice parcel of land for two years or more on a possibility of a possibility?


Let me make myself clear here. I may not have been born here, but I know Fall River's history. I know how the mill owners worked their craftsmen and laborers to the bone. I know how they made great fists full of money and then fled this city, often with financial scandals in their wake. The mills put Fall River on the map, but the mills also created a poverty class that has yet to rise above that standard of living. The rich families, the Durfees and Bordens and Braytons, are all but gone. Fall River today is populated by the children of the mill workers, a depressed, impoverished, undereducated, and dreadfully frustrated citizenry. Immigrants seeking a better way of life have found, instead, a government that can at best be described as dysfunctional and seems out for what is best for the special interests instead of the people who live here.


A casino is nothing but a mill with flashing lights. Congratulations, Mayor Flanagan. You have indeed left your mark on this city. You have recreated the past EXACTLY like it was before. And just like then, the money will leave the city, the jobs will be low to minimum wage, and poverty will reign for yet another generation.


This is on your head, Mayor Flanagan. And long after you are gone, future immigrants looking for a better life will once again learn that Fall River is not the place for that dream to be realized. It could have been, but one day in the year 2010, its Mayor sold his city's soul for a few million pieces of silver.




Stefani Koorey

Fall River gives away land for a pittancce for a SLOT BARN

It might be difficult to believe anyone could negotiate an Agreement more flawed than Middleboro, but the Fall River RDA has succeeded.

Of particular note, setting aside numerous legal questions that need to be resolved, is that Middleboro retained counsel that specializes in Tribal Gaming Law. Not so Fall River!

Of particular note is that a Management Agreement the Tribe has with their investors requires approval by NIGC (National Indian Gaming Commission), a process that takes 5-7 years. A recent response received from NIGC indicates there is no record of submission by the Tribe.

The Fall River RDA sold land in a Commercial Business Park for less than the cost of a house lot! Pretty impressive businessmen!


Redevelopment Authority approves sale of 45 acres to Mashpees

FALL RIVER — The Redevelopment Authority voted 3-1 Tuesday to sell 45 acres of a 300-acre parcel off Route 24 for an envisioned casino resort to the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe for $4.5 million, with an option to buy the remainder by mid-2012.

The deal is expected to be signed this week, with a $225,000 deposit and the balance paid at closing, scheduled for Nov. 16.

Like the prior deal the Authority approved but never signed, the tribe would hold an option to buy the remaining acreage for a total of $21 million.

Chairman William Kenney opposed the deal over concerns the tribe would not “unilaterally waive” sovereign nation status over prospective state and federal environmental laws.

“This is our last, best chance to decide what happens to the land today,” Kenney said.

When the votes were cast, Kenney said “reluctantly, no,” apparently agonizing over the decision.

The sale paves the way for the Authority to purchase property for a biomanufacturing test facility the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth is eying in Fall River, officials said.

“We will do everything we can to make both a reality,” said Mayor Will Flanagan, who is awaiting the official notification from UMass Dartmouth Chancellor Jean MacCormick.

“This purchase and sale ties up the entire parcel,” said Kenneth Fiola Jr., head of the Fall River Office of Economic Development.

“I look at this as a jobs bill to create a significant number of jobs,” Fiola said.

He projected 4,500 full-time jobs at casino completion, available to a people with a range of skill levels and education. Another 1,000 jobs would be created during construction.

He noted the city’s 13 percent unemployment rate and that the Mashpees “are not looking for any type of (tax) incentives.”

Fiola, flanked by Flanagan, who’s sought the casino deal since he was elected a year ago, answered questions after a quick Authority vote and an adjourned meeting in the FROED office.

Fiola said the complex purchase agreement needs to be signed by a limited liability corporation for the tribe and its investors, Arkana Ltd., a Malaysian subsidiary of the Genting Group that financed the Foxwoods casino in Connecticut.

The pact includes provisions for the authority to repurchase the land for the same $4.5 million after July 31, 2012, by selling off land parcels over several years if the Mashpees are unable to obtain a casino gaming license.

That could happen if the state legalizes gambling after it failed to reach a compromise on the terms between the legislative and executive branches this summer. Otherwise, the tribe began seeking an alternative avenue this summer for gaming through the federal government.

The tribe amended its application seeking to acquire this land tract in federal trust through a June 30 amended application to the U.S. Department of Interior, Larry Echo Hawk, assistant secretary of Indian affairs, wrote U.S. Rep. Barney Frank in a Sept. 29 letter.

“I support the city of Fall River’s desire to be included in the tribe’s amended land trust application,” Frank wrote Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar in an August letter Flanagan supplied.

Frank wrote that he opposed the original trust application for land in Middleboro because of an ongoing dispute and because “the tribe has changed its plans.”

Flanagan said the city’s “hands are not tied” through this agreement if the Mashpees are unable to build a casino resort on land the Correia administration had committed for a biomanufacturing park with state funding support.

Flanagan answered questions on how city voters will weigh in on the building of the proposed $500 million casino resort that also would feature hotels, shopping centers, entertainment and other amenities.

As the agreement proceeds, a referendum vote will be incorporated into a compact with the city or the state, depending upon how gaming would be approved on the site, Flanagan said.

“If gaming comes to fruition, there will be a ballot vote,” he said, requiring a majority approval of city voters.

He said if the tribe succeeds in obtaining the land into trust, “I’ve gone on record saying I would have a referendum and the City Council has gone on record” saying there would be a vote held.

Flanagan said he would await the timing of legislation to dictate when such a vote would be held. The agreement calls for the tribe to reimburse the city up to $35,000 for holding a referendum vote.

Fiola said the Mashpees would require a gaming license to build a casino. According to Authority member Ronald Rheaume, they can only build a casino “at the level that is allowed in Massachusetts.”

Gaming “against the house” is prohibited, Flanagan said, which makes Class II gambling like bingo legal.

While city officials await legalization of a Class III casino like the Mashpees propose, Flanagan said during the questioning “with modern technology you can’t tell the difference between Class II and Class III.”

The three Authority members voting in favor of the revised agreement were Flanagan’s three appointments this year: Dylan Ferreira, Thomas Martin Sr. and Rheaume, who voted for the original agreement on a 3-2 vote in July.
Kenney opposed it both times, and Ann Keene was not present for the third consecutive RA meeting.

After receiving the revised agreement Friday night and discussing it for an hour in closed session Tuesday with RA consulting lawyers, Corporation Counsel Steven Torres and Fiola, only Kenney offered expansive comments.

Ferreira, who made the motion, did not offer any comment. Martin said, “I think it’s a well-written document. I think we should proceed.” Minutes earlier, during a recess, he said he did not know if there would be a board vote.

“I feel that it’s in the best interests of the Redevelopment Authority to move forward with these documents and enter into an agreement with the Mashpee Wampanoags,” Rheaume said.

Flanagan said he thought the tribal council would be voting today on the agreement.

The dissenter
“My vote is complicated,” Kenney said.

Kenney heralded certain provisions of the contract such as required compliance of Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act regulations that might require an amended MEPA filing by the tribe.

He praised Flanagan and Fiola, in particular, for his “knowledge” and competence,” and the mayor for his courage.

But clearly Kenney, a city lawyer, has misgivings. “I’m not convinced we should do this without a complete agreement on waiving sovereign immunity,” he said. “But that’s not going to happen.”

Kenney said he’s received no explanation on why the tribe would not agree to waive that so all environmental and other state and federal laws would be applicable without the status as an Indian tribe being applied.

He said the tribe would not provide an explanation for that position.

Kenney also spoke about the long-negotiated agreement with various environmental groups that resulted in the state selling this property next to the State Forest to the city through the Authority in a land swap.

“This land, the history of the land, we’ve negotiated for a long time,” Kenney said. “It’s subject to certain restrictions, and they’re gone.”

One restriction was that there is no casino gambling, a restriction the state or federal government would need to remove prior to a license being awarded.