SPILYAY TYMOO
NOVEMBER 19,1981 PAGE 13
District meeting tonight to discuss:
Proposed credit and housing referendum
District meetings have been scheduled to share
inform ation on a proposed credit and housing referendum,
and to seek direction from members on the referendum
format.
The Agency/ Seekseequa districts will meet at the Agency
Longhouse today, Nov. 19, at 1:00 p.m. and again at 7 p.m.
this evening following a meal.
The Simnasho District met Nov. 17 to discuss the items.
The items under discussion include $2,000,000 for the
Credit D epartm ent and $2,000,000 f o ra revolving Housing
and Subdivision Construction Fund.
Both items would be used for services to tribal members.
The following list of questions arid answers relate to the
items to be discussed.
Questions about the
Credit Dept. funds
Question: Is the
Department Broke?
Credit
Answer: No, but the funds that
we have (from the 1978
re fe re n d u m ) have been
committed to a variety of
projects, primarily homes and
some business loans.
Question: How can the Credit
Department continue to make
small loans if all funds are
committed.
Answer: Each month the
Department collects about
$200,000 in loan payments.
Much of these monies are
returned to the credit account
to be relent to customers.
Question: Where have the
credit funds gone or how has
the money been used?
Answer We have made 279
loans to Tribal members for the
purpose of buying homes.
P resently we have ovef
$5,300,000 in various home
loans. We have over $1,360,000
outstanding in 57 loans for
b u s in e s s a n d f a r m in g
enterprises.
In auto, personal and all
other loans we have over
$3,150,000. We have about
1550 loans on our books and
more than $9,890,000 in loan
dollars outstanding. If you add
in the total committed funds on
projects in process our total
loans outstanding will exceed
$10,250,000.
Answer: The authority to
liquidate defaulted loans is
contained in the Tribal Credit
Code. The Credit Department
will first exhaust every effort to
work with the borrower in an
effort to avoid liquidation of
pledged assets.
Question: Does the Credit
Office have many delinquent or
past due loans?
Answer: Presently we have
about $390,000 in past due loan
payments that represents just
under 4% of the total amount
of loans outstanding.
Question: Why don’t people
keep their payments up to date?
Answer: There are many
reasons; some people are out of
work, others over obligate
themselves. A few people are
difficult to work with, but foi
the most part our customers are
h o n e s t an d pay th e ir
obligations well.
Question: How do I find out
about building a home?
Answer: Contact the Credit
Manager in the Credit Office to
discuss the details if financing is
going to be needed.
Question: How will the
additional funds be used by
Credit?
Answer: The monies will be
used in all areas of credit, auto,
business, personal or housing
to qualified borrowers.
Question: Can any Tribal
member get a loan to buy a Question: What happens to
home?
the interest income that is
Answer. Home loans are a long collected on loans?
term situation and a person
financing a home must be Answer: The Credit office pays
settled with adequate income all of its salaries and expenses
from steady employment to be from the interest earnings, the
able to pay for and maintain amount of money left after
the home. Not all people that expenses goes back into the
apply are approved because credit account to be loaned oat
some do n o t m eet the to our customers.
qualifications. We do try to Question: How much money
assist as many people as goes back to the loan account
possible in this area.
to be reloaned to Tribal
members?
Question: Can the Tribe
foreclose on my mortgage and
repossess my home if I don’t
make the payments?
Answer: About $250,000 a year
goes back into the loan funds
accounts, not including more
than $2,000,000 in refinanced
loans.
Questions about the proposed
revolving housing and subdivision
construction fund—
Question: What is the purpose from fire. Mobile homes are
of a $2,000,000 revolving still the answer for some
housing and subdivision fund? people.
Answer: The revolving fund Question: Why is money
would create an on-going needed for development of
program to allow money from homesites?
the sales of tribally built homes
to be re-used for new home Answer: The money is needed
construction. Also, the fund to provide sites for tribally built
would be used to develop homes and individually built
subdivision homesites when homes. Any money available
federal funds are not available from BIA of IHS would be
used to offset tribal funds.
Question: Who could use such
a fund?
Question: Where would the
A nsw er: T rib al m em bers fir st 20 h o m e site s be
interested in lower cost tribally developed?
constructed homes in rural or Answer: The proposed location
community areas could use the of the 20 homesites would be
fund. The cost for each home near Wolf Point, cast of Eagle
would be less because more Butte and Simnasho—Kah-
than one home would be built Nee-Ta Highway (near Delbert
at a time, such as in Greeley F rank and M abie Eyle’s
Heights
homes and Beula Switzler’s
homes, east of the old
Question: Could the money be McKinley ranch).
used for m obile homes
purchases?
Question: How large would the
Answer: No, individual loans homesites be?
for mobile home purchases
(and individual built homes) Answer: Each homesite would
would still be financed through be 2 acres or larger in size. The
th e C re d it D e p a rtm e n t. sites would be served by the
However, starter-homes could new Water Supply System
be built through the revolving from the Deschutes River
fund—which would cost about treatment plant.
the same as mobile homes.
Question: Why not build the
subdivision at Dry Creek or the
Question: Why build a starter- Agency?
home when mobile homes are
so much faster to move into? A nsw er: R u ra l h o u sin g
expansion in the Dry Creek
cannot be developed until
Answer: The starter-home is area
a study is completed on sewage
aim ed at younger tribal disposal needs for that area. A
m em bers who w ant the
flexibility to expand the size of few homesites are already
in the Greeley
their home in the future. Also, available
Heights
subdivision,
can
starter-homes are more easily be expanded after the which
Agency’s
renovated and are usually safer sewage treatment system is
improved. Also homesites are
now available in the Simnasho
subdivision.
Question: How many people
on the Housing waiting list
would be interested in one of
the homesites?
A n s w e r: M o s t o f th e
approximately 170 people on
the waiting list would probably
be interested in a homesite.
However, many of these people
are unemployed and need
subsidized housing or low cost
rentals. A certain number of
people who are now in rental
housing would qualify for a
starter-home or similar cost
housing.
Question: Who would oversee
the revolving fund?
Answer: The Com m unity
Services Manager would be
responsible for use of the fund,
although no money would be
expended w ith o u t T rib al
Council approval.
Question: What is planned for
1982?
Answer: Proposed for 1982 are
10 starter-homes and 20 rural
homesites.
Q uestion: W ill an oth er
referendum be needed to
replenish the revolving fund?
Answer: Another referendum
will eventually be needed,
depending on how much
m o n e y is n e e d e d f o r
su b d iv isio n d evelopm ent.
Also, because of inflation am I
the increasing cost of horn :
construction, fewer and fewe'
homes could be built over t h :
years.
District Meeting Tonight — Nov. 19
Agency Longhouse
To discuss possible Credit & Housing Referendum
Dinner—6 p.m. Meeting— 7 p.m.