Bill proposes $70K salaries for Navajo Council delegates
Special to the Times | Reginald Chee
Delegate Amber Kanazbah Crotty, left, shakes hands with Delegate Rickie Nez during the Navajo Nation Council’s spring session in April 2024, in Window Rock.
WINDOW ROCK
Navajo Nation Council delegates have earned $25,000 a year since 1989. A bill posted for public comment this week would let Diné voters decide whether to raise that salary to $70,000.
Legislation 0232-26, sponsored by Law and Order Committee Chair Eugenia Charles-Newton and co-sponsored by Speaker Crystalyne Curley, proposes two ballot measures. Measure A would increase delegates’ base salary by $45,000, while Measure B would replace the requirement that two-thirds of the Nation’s 110 chapters ratify delegate raises with approval by voters.
Jared Touchin, the speaker’s deputy chief of staff, explained that Charles-Newton asked Curley to co-sponsor several bills because she could not travel to Window Rock to sign them before legislative deadlines.
“It doesn’t mean that she’s supporting the legislation,” Touchin said. “It’s just a formality to get them posted for delegates.”
The increase would nearly triple delegates’ base pay. Combined salaries for the 24 delegates would rise from $600,000 to $1.68 million annually, an increase of $1.08 million. Over a four-year term, the additional cost would total $4.32 million, excluding meeting stipends, mileage and per diem.
To read the full article, please see the Oct. 8, 2026, edition of the Navajo Times.
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