A Message From Tribal Council
Salary Consideration
The purpose of this statement is to address concerns
regarding the compensation package adopted for Tribal
Council. We, the Tribal Council of the Confederated Tribes
of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon, recognize the
importance of considering the concerns and recommendations
of the General Council. We encourage input from the
General Council and it is our intent to carefully examine,
discuss, and act upon any recommendation brought forth by
them. Although General Council input is important to the
Tribal Council, the actions we take may be different than
those proposed. However, we will always give concerns and
recommendations reasonable consideration.
To better understand the actions of Tribal Council,
it is crucial to understand the responsibilities and authority
delegated to the Tribal Council through the General Council
through the Tribal Constitution. Tribal Council is given
broad authority for decision-making. With this authority
comes great responsibility. We recognize the importance of
making sound decisions because the decisions we make
today will affect our tribe for generations to come. If the
Council makes a poor decision or a series of poor decisions,
tribal growth can be stunted, or in the worst case, termination
could result Tribal Council must always look to what is fair
and best for the tribe as a whole rather than meeting the needs
of one, a few, or a specific family. It is with this in mind that
Council has made the decision concerning our compensation
package.
Tribal Council considered many factors prior to
arriving at a decision. First, we had our Personnel Director
conduct a survey of other Tribal Council's compensation
packages. The results of the survey indicated compensation
ranging from serving as a volunteer (for small tribes with
limited resources) to annual salaries up to $45,000 (for tribes
with more resources). These salary ranges were based on
service and responsibility to respective tribe and not
necessarily actual time spent "on the job".
Council also instructed our Personnel Director to
develop a single, generic job description for the six Council
members who are not officers, and to update job descriptions
for the three officers. The generic job description was rated
as Grade 1 1 based on the Tribe's classification system. Based
on this rating the compensation range would start at $34,000
annually. Itisimportantto note that the Tribe'sclassification
system was designed for the employeremployee relationship
and does not consider many the characteristics of an elected
office. The exercise was performed to give Council a point
of reference with regard to our compensation. Given the
shortcomings of applying the Tribe's classification system to
an elected office, it was not intended to be the final
determination. Council also examined other factors before
coming to a decision on the compensation package.
One factor considered was the Tribal Council salary
history. Originally, from 1975-1984 Council served on a
volunteer basis. After Restoration, 1984-1988, Council
received $5.00 per hour based on committee activity. In
1989, Council pay was increased to $8.00 per hour with cost
of living increased each year until 1993 at which time the
Council was making $9.28 per hour. In 1993, due to tight
budgets, Council took a pay decrease down to $600 per
month. This compensation was a base salary rather than
hourly.
While reviewing the history, Council also examined
how the work load had changed over the past 10 years. The
issues in the beginning, while difficult, were focused first on
recognition of the Tribe, and then the establishment of a
reservation. As Council succeeded in the pursuit of these
projects, the complexity of issues increased. With the
addition of each new program, the number of issues and their
complexities continued to grow. This is a trend Council
expects to persist as we continue to expand services and areas
of involvement.
As these issues grew, so did the need to acquire
information in order to make sound decisions. Council now
has an enormous responsibility to stay informed on the
current issues the Tribe faces. As well, Council must
consider potential issues and how they might affect the
security of the Tribe. Staying informed is partially
accomplished by attending national forums, such as Affiliated
Tribes of Northwest Indians (ATNI) and the National
Congress of American Indians (NC AI). Other information
is acquired through vital outside contacts (local, state,
national), and staff. Much of the information comes to
Council in written form. Therefore, a great deal of reading
is required to stay abreast of the issues. Finally, information
is shared between Council members during the many
planning, work group, and Tribal Council meetings we have.
We also considered our responsibility for the high
level of input and negotiations we are engaged in. Tribal
Council is not only involved with national forums to gather
vital information but also participates and has input in the
formation of national policies. Many times national forums
require tribal leaders and decision-makers to attend so that
quality input can be gleaned from this leadership. Grand
Ronde is known as a tribe dedicated to hard work and
perseverance because its representatives consistently stay
through to the end of these national forums. We also have
continuous contact and often have negotiations with numerous
local, state, regional, and national organizations, individuals,
and governments.
Another factor we considered in raising the Tribal
Council salary was the nature of responsibility we owe to the
Tribe. As Council members, we are expected to be available
not only to the administration and our constituents, but also
to each other. As situations arise, or people have questions
and concerns, we are expected to commit adequate time to
address the situation or answer the question. In essence, we
work on call. This results in our time becoming fragmented.
Fragmented to the point where each of us would be unable to
hold down other conventional employment and still meet our
tribal responsibilities. For example, the time requirements
one week might be every day, the next week only one day,
while the next week may demand travel over the weekend.
As Council, we have the responsibility to keep our schedules
flexible in order to meet the needs of the Tribe.
Based on the above criteria, we believe it is in the
best interest of the Tribe to maintain the compensation level
for the Tribal Council at the rate of $25,000 annually, which
was approved for the 1994 budget. The following is an
explanation or our reasoning: First, based on the demands
of an increased work load, including the expanding number
of the complexity of issues, this substantial increase was
needed to bring Council's salary up to a reasonable level. It
is important to note, we believe there will not be another
salary increase of this size in the foreseeable future, as long
as the cost of living increases are maintained. 'Also, this
salary adjustment is similar to those experienced by many of
the Tribal staff. Second, the amount chosen as reasonable
was founded in part on the survey of other tribal council's
compensation. Finally, we believe this compensation level
will ensure the opportunity for Council members to stay
informed on the vast number of issues Tribal Council deals
with. Given the time commitment to accomplish this, it
would be extremely difficult for a Tribal Council member to
secure other employment and still fulfill Council
responsibilities.
Tribal Council recognizes and stands by our oath of
office, to work for the good of the Tribe. It is our intent with
this decision and all decisions to look out for the best interest
of the Tribe. We thank the General Council for your concern
and look forward to accomplishing great things for the Tribe.
Tribal Council
Advisory Recommendation
The following Advisory Recommendation was presented
to the General Council and Tribal Council members at the General
Meeting Sunday, February 6. It was compiled by Angie Leno,
amending the Tribal Council's decision regarding their salary
increase. It was voted on by the General Council members who
were present, and passed by a vote of 43 YES and 12 NO.
We, the members of the General Council, present at this
meeting, an advisory vote:
The Tribal Council shall have the following hourly rates:
Chairman: $16.83
Vice-Chair: $9.62
Secretary: $9.62
Remaining 6 Council members: $7.70
The hourly rates are based on a yearly salary listed below:
Chairman: $35,000
Vice-Chair: $20,000
Secretary: $20,000
Remaining 6 Council members: $16,000
The salaries shall not exceed these amounts, and the following
stipulations shall also apply:
1 . Council members shall keep journals accounting for their hours,
and these journals shall be turned over to the Chairman or any tribal
member wishing to see them, in order to justify their hours.
2. The Council Chairman shall be responsible for signing time
sheets. The Chair will be held accountable for verifying hours if
necessary.
3. Those Council members working more than 40 hours per week
will be required to use that time as compensation, which means
they will not receive overtime pay.
4. Council members shall not be allowed to claim travel mileage to
and from headquarters.
5. From now on, Council will only receive raises based on
evaluations of their performances, and shall not exceed $.75 per
hour, occurring only once per year. Excluding cost of living
increases.
Concerns About Council's
Increase
Pay
Tribal members:
With the great concern over Tribal Council's pay increase
that they voted themselves in December, we feel that we have yet
to find any justification for a $16,000 increase for basically the
same job duties. These feelings are not only ours but many tribal
members'. The advisory vote that was held at the February General
Council meeting supports our concern over this. In a meeting of
approximately 70 people, 43 voted to have the Council take an
hourly rate that would justify the variable hours they work. Only
1 2 people voted to let them keep the raise. After a month of waiting
we finally received a response. We feel this response (left) is very
questionable and misleading. We have requested to be put on the
agenda for the April 10 General Council meeting, to once again
address this issue. We would appreciate any questions or concerns
regarding this issue, and encourage membership attendance.
Full Tune Chairman
Salary was: $33,000
Our recommendation: $33,000
Current after raise: $40,000
Full Time Vlce-Chalr
Salary was: $23,000
Our recommendation: $20,000
Current after raise: $33,000
Full Time Secretary
Salary was: $20,000
Our recommendation: $20,000
Current after raise: $30,000
Part Time remaining members
"Salary was: $9,000
Our recommendation: $16,000
Current after raise: $23,000
We did not realize at the time of the advisory vote that the
positions of Chairman, Vice-Chair, and Secretary were full-time
positions. We feel it would be fair to give each of them an increase
of $3,000, which would make their salaries as follows:
Chairman: $38,000
Vice Chair $28,000
Secretary: $23,000
Reyn Leno & Angela Leno