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Caddo Nation News Archives - April 2005
Marilyn Threlkeld and Anna Donaghey signed payroll checks
yesterday, but refused to sign checks for 5 of the tribe's employees.
It should be noted that these employees have NEVER received a notice of
termination nor was a reason given for why these employees' checks were
not signed. These employees have been at work and have the time cards
to support their time sheets. The refusal to pay these employees put
the tribe at serious risk of a lawsuit; there are laws that protect
employees and that say employees must be paid for the time worked.
Employees who did receive checks this morning have had
difficulty cashing and/or depositing their paychecks. The Legacy Bank
in Binger will no longer accept any checks from the Caddo Nation, even
if the employee banks with Legacy and has the money in their accounts
to cover the payroll check should it bounce.
Employees who are paid from the tribe's Motor Fuel funds were
also unable to cash or deposit their checks. Legacy Bank no longer
recognizes the Chairperson or Vice-Chairperson's signatures as valid.
The tribe's accounts at the Legacy Bank in Binger have been closed. The
bank refuses to give any information to the tribe's Finance Department
on the date that the accounts were closed or by what authority. As
there have been no council meetings lately, it is unclear by what
authority these 5 people have done this; there have been no official
resolutions passed to authorize these changes.
We are left with one question: WHERE
IS THE $80,000.00 THAT WAS IN THE MOTOR FUELS ACCOUNT?
It can only be assumed that Anna
Donaghey, Mary Pat Clark, LaCreda Daugomah, Marilyn
Threlkeld, and Christine Noah intend to move the money to some other
bank, but in the meantime, someone is walking around town with
$80,000.00 in their purse.
Under Chairperson Parker, the Motor Fuel funds were used only
for the purposes outlined in the contract with the state of Oklahoma;
these funds supported the tribe's health care services, cultural
programs, and educational activities. Without the oversight of the
Finance Department there are no guarantees that these funds will be
used for their allocated purposes. Unauthorized use of these funds
jeopardizes the tribe's ability to access these funds in the future for
their intended purposes and is in violation of our agreement with the
state.
The tribal membership should be outraged by the behavior of Anna
Donaghey, Mary Pat Clark, LaCreda Daugomah, Marilyn
Threlkeld, and Christine Noah. In addition to the payroll checks that
have bounced, checks issued for tribal members' hearing aids and eye
glasses are no longer good. This situation also leaves many of our
college students without funding. The Museum has also canceled the
opening of the new art exhibit. The tribe's reputation has been damaged
beyond repair and our good standing with local businesses and banks is
gone.
These are dark days for the Caddo Nation and we are all praying
that this situation is resolved soon.
A message from Chairperson LaRue
Martin Parker (28 April 2005)
As some of you may have heard, the financial situation at the Caddo Tribe has become increasingly uncertain due to the actions of 5 of the Bureau of Indian Affairs recognized tribal council members. These individuals, namely Anna Donaghey, Mary Pat Clark, LaCreda Daugomah, Marilyn Threlkeld, and Christine Noah, sent a resolution to the tribe's bank in Shawnee and requested that the Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson's names be removed from all accounts. They also requested that their own names be added as signatories on all financial transactions.
Because of this request, the bank has disabled our access to
Bank Link. Bank Link allows funds to be drawn down from the federal
government and deposited into the tribe's accounts. Without access to
Bank Link we can not deposit money into the tribe's programs. These 5
individuals must give permission to the bank to reinstate Bank Link,
but they do not seem to be in any hurry to correct this oversight.
The results of actions of these 5 individuals have been
disastrous. Since money can not be deposited into the tribal program
accounts, several programs are or will very soon be bankrupt and have
to shut down. These programs include the AOA
Senior Nutrition Program, the Injury
Prevention Program, the Air
Quality Program, and our Head
Start centers. While it is unfortunate that employees of these
programs are not able to be paid, the threat to services to Caddo
tribal members is much more worrisome. We have worked so hard for so
many years to get these programs and some people are doing their very
best to destroy all of that hard work. This situation will be
especially difficult for parents with children in the Head Start
program and for elders who rely on AOA to provide them with nutritious
meals.
Employees at the tribe have been working for two weeks without
any assurance that they will receive a pay check at the end of the pay
period, and if they do receive a check, they are unsure if it will be
any good. The Caddo Nation's employees are very devoted and committed
to continuing to provide services to the Caddo people. The hardship
that these employees face is very real. A large number of employees had
their pay checks bounce, and subsequently, checks they had written on
their personal accounts bounced. This is regrettable and will be a
heavy burden on these employees.
These 5 individuals also requested that the bank consider as
invalid any check written after 8 April 2005 and signed by the
Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson. This includes employees' pay checks
as well as checks written to our vendors and suppliers. This action has
irrevocably damaged the reputation of the tribe with office supply
companies, contractors, travel agencies, and other businesses with
which we work. In financial terms, the tribe is now faced with mounting
fees associated with returned checks at a time when we can ill-afford
these extra expenses. Furthermore, these bank fees are considered
disallowed costs on our grants and contracts and must be paid out of
tribal funds.
Other unforeseen consequences of the change in signatures at
the bank include the cancellation of the Caddo Cultural Festival and
Symposium. Tribal members, employees, and other volunteers had put in
many hours to get this festival going and we now have to postpone the
event as we are not able to access the necessary funds or draw up
contracts. We also had to cancel the supervisory training that was
scheduled earlier this month (see below).
Caddo Chairperson LaRue Parker has called a Petition Election for
Saturday, May 7, 2005 to be held in the Caddo Nation Conference Room of
the Administration Building at 1:00 p.m.
The purpose of the
meeting is to allow the Caddo Nation members to approve or reject
resolutions passed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs recognized Council
members: Anna Donaghey, Mary Pat Clark, LaCreda Daugomah, Marilyn
Threlkeld, and Christine Noah.
In accordance with the
Tribal Constitution, which grants Caddo members the power to reject any
action of the Tribal Council by petition, Article IX, Section 2,
Chairperson Parker received such a petition signed by the required
numbers of registered Caddo voters asking that the resolutions passed
by the above mentioned BIA recognized council members be overturned.
The meeting is to act on this request and determine the will of the
people.
Resolutions and actions
in question pertain to: