Questionable funding decisions
by Seminoles deserves scrutiny

South Florida Sun-Sentinel Editorial Board
Copyright © 2007, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Wednesday, December 5, 2007

ISSUE: Seminoles' council makes questionable funding decisions.

Good governance benefits everyone. Bad governance costs everyone.

The principle sticks no matter whether it is a municipality, a county, the state or federal government — or even the Seminole Tribe of Florida. U.S. taxpayers and Florida residents have a stake in the way money is appropriated by the tribe, much as the tribe has a stake in decisions made by its neighboring communities.

A South Florida Sun-Sentinel investigation has uncovered questionable governmental practices by the Seminole Tribal Council, which oversees the tribe's 3,320 members. The findings require a thorough investigation, and ought to cause Gov. Charlie Crist and Florida lawmakers to review the recently signed compact between the state and the tribe.

The Sun-Sentinel series published last week highlighted a number of findings that cannot be ignored. They include:

A majority of the council's members, who control the tribe's money, maintain power partly by dispensing cash and granting financial requests. Since 2000, the tribe's leaders have spent more than $280 million, at their discretion, from funds they control.

Some of the tribe's leaders have been especially generous in allotting themselves funds for lavish homes and amenities.

Some members of the tribe's council have been involved in companies that received millions of dollars from the tribe and also voted on business deals benefiting themselves and their immediate families.

There are those tempted to argue that what the Seminole leadership does is their and the tribe's business, and they would be correct if that were the whole story. It's not.

While the tribe reaps the rewards of their investment in gambling operations, government records obtained by the Sun-Sentinel show they also pocketed grants and aid from the U.S. government for health care, housing, schooling, police services and other needs — sometimes claiming sparse funds and budget constraints to plead their case. This despite the fact the casinos and other business operations run by the Seminole Tribe generate more than $1 billion a year for the nation as a whole, and that its members receive an annual stipend of about $120,000 each.

In a five-year period surveyed by the Sun-Sentinel, the tribe received more than $3.2 billion in revenues and another $80 million in federal assistance.

More power to them, you say? Federal law entitles them, as a sovereign nation, to that assistance, you say? Well, the latter is pretty much true.

But bear in mind that federal dollars allocated to the tribe, an arguably wealthy entity, are dollars not available to other Native American societies living in greater need throughout the United States. Remember, too, that with a $9 trillion debt and red ink dripping from annual U.S. budget deficits, there is an onus on the U.S. government to make sure every dollar spent is spent wisely.

To conclude that what the Seminole Tribal Council does on behalf of its members is their business, and only their business, is short-sighted and irresponsible.

Yes, the tribe is a sovereign nation and, due to its history, deserves respect from all South Floridians. The Seminoles are an important aspect of South Florida's diverse society, and their traditions enrich our multicultural flavor.

The tribe should also be admired and congratulated for its business acumen. It has built a financial empire, and deserves the riches those enterprises generate.

It's also fair to point out that no one forces South Floridians of all ethnicities, races and creeds to go to their properties, including the Hard Rock establishment. They go because they want to. They go because the Seminoles have created a popular and alluring entertainment complex. Period.

Despite their sovereign nation status, however, the Seminole Tribal Council is not above scrutiny any more than other public and private officials in South Florida. And, so, it is necessary that the appropriate authorities thoroughly investigate the Sun-Sentinel's findings.

Moreover, Congress, including South Florida's representatives, must push to ensure that the U.S. government agencies responsible for overseeing Native American affairs, including the National Indian Gaming Commission, have the staffing and necessary regulations to properly meet their supervisory obligations. And it is necessary for state officials, including Gov. Crist, to take a second look at the gambling compact signed with the Seminoles to determine whether there are adequate safeguards for the state's interest.

The Seminole Tribe is a neighbor, and a valued one.

South Florida, however, is an interwoven and interdependent society. Just as the Seminoles must count on wise decision-making in governance by its neighbors, its neighbors must count on the same from them.

BOTTOM LINE: Seminoles are valued neighbors, but their leadership is not above scrutiny.