Late date prompts more changes to budget
WINDOW ROCK
Although less than expected, the Navajo Nation Council approved adding some money to the Navajo Nation Comprehensive Budget during their special council session Nov. 17.
The $7.8 million the council was hoping to add to the budget via several amendments ended up being $7.7 million because it has already been nearly two months since the start of the 2017 Fiscal Year. With that being the case, the tribal council decided to factor the time loss into a revised budget amount. The amount will fund the remaining 10 months of restoring the 17 items that Navajo Nation President Russell Begaye had vetoed in September.
“We are one month into the budget so these personnel budgets has been cut down by one month,” said Council Delegate Seth Damon (Bááháálí/Chichiltah/Manuelito/Tsé Lichíí’/Rock Springs/Tsayatoh).
When Begaye exercised his 17 line-item vetoes within the $659.7 million comprehensive budget, it took away jobs for a number of people, so the council, Begaye, and Navajo Nation Vice President Jonathan Nez met and agreed that the $8.3 million that was left in unallocated funds from the vetoes would go back toward the stricken areas.
But, because the funds were lower than what council had expected, they would have to amend items in order to come up with the revised amount.
“The proposed legislation is over by $84,359 so in order to balance it, it needs to be amended or reduced,” said Office of Management and Budget Director Dominic Beyal.
The delegates decided to reduce the additional funding for Criminal Investigators from $250,000 to $225,641, and reduce the Legislative District Assistants, water resources and election office by $20,000 each.
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