CityTribe MOA

1
City/Tribe MOA

• Shared-Vision To provide safe and reliable
  services to our community members

Sense of Urgency
Benefits of MOA
Process Used
Implementation Issues
Memorandum of Agreement
Current Status
2
Sense of Urgency

• State eliminated Revenue Sharing Muncipal
  Assistance
• 75 of Citys discretionary operating budget
  eliminated
• For every 1 made, 2 spent
• Cash flow problems (Cash is King)
• Bills not being paid on time
• Utilizing enterprise funds to support services
  payroll
• Huge amounts owed to IRS, AVEC other vendors
• Service delivery to the public jeopardized

3
Process Used

• Joint-Council meeting Dec. 12, 2003
• We recognized that we needed to" work together
  take responsibility for our future
• We agreed to unite around the shared needs of our
  community
• Passed Joint-Resolution requesting technical and
  financial assistance on December 22, 2003
• Consider new or alternative ways to organize to
  meet our challenges of utility service delivery,
  public safety and capital facility management
• Considered the advantages and disadvantages of
  various organizational strategies and identified
  the best approach for Kiana

4
Process Used (contd)

• Dissolve the City Government! We decided against
  it since the City is capable of getting access to
  funding that the Tribe may not. Why dont we
  utilize the tools the City has that would only
  strengthen our self-determination?
• The best approach we agreed upon was an MOA to
  happen by July 1, 2004. This MOA would place all
  municipal operations and services under Tribal
  Government Administration and would result in the
  following outcomes

5
Process Used (Contd)

• 1) Eliminate duplications in administration,
  resulting in the most cost-effective manner by
  reducing admin and overhead costs and bringing a
  best practices approach to doing the publics
  business.
• 2) Bolster cash flow by sharing resources, and
• 3) Increase the effectiveness and efficiency of
  service delivery to the public.

6
Process Used (contd)

• Held Public meeting on January 12, 2004 and
  obtained full support from the community
• The two administrations started putting together
  a plan that would have the MOA in place before
  July 1, 2004. We worked very closely with Anthony
  Caole of Northern Management.
• Working together Taking Responsibility is a
  must.

7
Memorandum of Agreement

• Transfers maintenance and operation of all City
  services to the Native Village of Kiana and
  consolidate the Tribal/City Admin into one with
  the Tribe providing bookkeeping and
  administration services for all City funds.
• ALL employees are Tribal employees
• Does not dissolve the City
• Does not transfer ownership and title of the
  Citys assets to the Tribe
• City shall continue to function as a body under
  the MOA and perform minimum requirements stated
  in the Alaska Statutes to retain the status of
  2nd Class City

8
Memorandum of Agreement

• Effective July 1, 2004 and terminates on June 30,
  2005. Negotiations for continuation will be
  completed prior to June 30, of each year
• For Joint-Council meetings a majority of
  authorized membership of each Council must be
  present to constitute a quorum for any meeting

9
Benefits of MOA

• All services and programs are put under one
  administration
• Immediately saved the City 180K, stopped the
  bleeding
• Created local economies of scale and eliminated
  redundant administration
• All community funds are administered on one
  accounting system
• More effective cooperation between municipal and
  tribal officials
• All employees and all community services are
  under one chain of command for maximum
  effectiveness
• All of our energy, time and resources can now be
  focused on developing one stable, trained admin
  that meets the fed state requirements for the
  administration of grants

10
Benefits of MOA

• There is only one meeting per month (unless there
  is a special meetings) with only one set of
  minutes
• With 14 Council members present at meetings, key
  community issues are ensured a higher level of
  debate dialogue before action is taken

11
Implementation Issues

• Could be extremely complex administrative
  arrangement
• Requires higher level of cooperation between
  municipal and tribal officials
• Requires fund accounting system to track both
  municipal and tribal funds simultaneously
• Council will have to work through gray areas,
  particularly as it relates to the exercise of
  authority.
• Municipal services that were once available to
  all community residents cannot then be restricted
  to tribal members once the Tribe starts
  administering the Citys funds

12
Implementation Issues

• Requires a great deal of education prior to
  implementation so that all council members city
  and tribal- understand the implications of the
  arrangement, how funds will be handled, etc.
• Meeting may be cumbersome with 14 council
  members.
• Must have all core management systems in place to
  handle all the communitys funds.
• Community support their involvement is critical
  for the MOA to succeed. The proposed MOA has to
  be explained in detail to the community.
• Transition plan should be prepared the
  transition plan will guide the transfer of
  services to one entity
• A current inventory of all property and assets
  for both entities is required
• Insure municipal codes are up-dated

13
Current Status

• Six months into the MOA
• -paid-off most of Cities debts
• -annual budget over 1M
• -increased cash flow
• -14 FTE 2 .5 FTE
• -stable trained personnel
• Renewing MOA (with minor changes) by April 2005

14
Working Together

• The needs know no boundaries
• Working together taking
• Responsibility can create
• Opportunities!