Tribal Council approves general welfare assistance payments for membership

By Danielle Harrison

Smoke Signals editor

Tribal Council approved final adoption of the General Welfare Assistance Program Ordinance to help Tribal members maintain their health and quality of life at its Wednesday, Aug. 20, meeting.

Several council members said during a Tuesday, Aug. 19, Legislative Action Committee meeting that the ordinance had been years in the making and credited past Tribal Council member Michael Langley for his efforts to move it forward.

“Michael Langley was leading this effort and then we kind of slacked off when he was not reelected a couple of years ago, but we’ve picked up the baton and we’re here,” Tribal Council Vice Chair Chris Mercier said. “We’ve been talking about it for years.”

Tribal Council member Matthew Haller said he appreciated Langley’s efforts to move the ordinance forward, even after he was no longer on council.

“I hold my hands up to (him) and I know he spoke on this often,” Haller said. “He wrote long articles online that I definitely read and processed, and he just opened his arms and within my first month on council he contacted me and his whole objective was just how could we continue to move this forward. So, I think even after he wasn’t reelected, he continued to help push us in the direction of making sure that we are where we are today.”

Tribal Council member Kathleen George noted that all Tribal members have had to deal with inflation, economic uncertainty and rapidly rising prices, especially for housing. She added that the new general assistance payments will not be subject to federal taxes.

“This is going to increase our ability to address that (financial) need for Tribal members without them losing a substantial portion to taxes,” she said. “For those Tribal members who are Elders and saw how the transition to the Elders general welfare payment went…this is the same kind of transition, only for our members at large.”

Payments will begin going out to all eligible Tribal members beginning in September, including minor children, for the purpose of maintaining health, well-being, quality of life and independence.

The payments will be made quarterly. The amount and method of payment has not yet been determined but will be announced soon, according to Tribal Council Chief of Staff Stacia Hernandez.  Monthly payments will not be under consideration until at least January.

In other action, Tribal Council:

• Approved a waiver of sovereign immunity with Yubico Software only to the binding arbitration provision in the contract;
• Approved an application to the First Nations Development Institute for the Growing Tribal Economies Through Forest Market Innovations grant for up to $500,000;
• Approved a contract with Todd Construction Inc. of Portland for the construction of the Wind River Apartments phase 3 in Tribal housing. The project will include 10 apartment buildings with 45 one- and two-bedroom units equipped with solar panels. The project has a tentative completion date of November 2026;
• Approved the continuation of a two-year agreement with the Oregon Department of Transportation to provide operating assistance funding for public transportation services in and around the Grand Ronde community;
• Approved a memorandum of understanding with ODOT for improvements related to Highway 99E at the Tribe’s tumwata village project in Oregon City, and also approved a service agreement between ODOT and the Tribe for the improvements;
• Approved amendments to the Tribal Debt Collection Ordinance to include that General Welfare Assistance and Supplemental General Welfare assistance Program payments are Tribal payments subject to Tribal debt collection provisions;
• Approved terms and conditions with Umpqua Bank, including a waiver of sovereign immunity only for disputes brought by the bank against the Tribe;
• Approved a grant renewal application to the Office of Head Start for the Head Start/Early Head Start American Indian and Alaska Native Program for up to $1.6 million;
• Approved a grant application to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for the Tribal Homeland Security Grant Program for up to $250,000;
• Approved the purchase of the Eel Rock II property for $45,000. The property is adjacent to the Tribe's Eel Rock I property near Highway 18 by Otis. The Eel Rock I property is a historic eel fishing site for Tribal members that is currently managed by the Tribal Natural Resources Department;
• And approved the enrollment of three infants into the Tribe because they meet the requirements under the Tribal Constitution and Enrollment Ordinance.

To watch the entire meeting, visit the Tribal government’s website at www.grandronde.org and click on the Videos tab.