General Council briefed on 2026 draft budget

By Danielle Harrison

Smoke Signals editor

Finance Officer Chris Leno briefed Tribal members on the draft budget for calendar year 2026 during the Sunday, Nov. 2, General Council meeting held at the Governance Center and on Zoom.

The draft budget portion of the meeting was held in executive session, which limits how much Smoke Signals can report on the details.

Leno’s draft budget presentation ran approximately one hour and 45 minutes, which included a 25-minute break for lunch, and he fielded 22 questions and comments regarding next year’s Tribal spending plan.

Tribal members interested in obtaining the slides of Leno’s presentation should contact Tribal Council Chief of Staff Stacia Hernandez at stacia.martin@grandronde.org or call 503-879-2304.

The November Tilixam Wawa also features a detailed look at the 2026 draft budget and adult Tribal members have until 5 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 4, to submit written comments. The final 2026 budget will be adopted on or before Wednesday, Dec. 31. Written comments can be submitted to 9615 Grand Ronde Road, Grand Ronde, OR, 97347; or emailed to chris.leno@grandronde.org.

In other action, the next General Council meeting will be held at 11 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 7, in Tribal Council chambers and on Zoom, and feature reports from the Tribe’s Cultural Resources and Ceded Lands departments.

The non-executive session portion of the meeting can be viewed by visiting the Tribal government’s website at www.grandronde.org and clicking on the Government tab and then Videos.