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Tama County loses appeal on tribal land issue |
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Written by Administrator
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Friday, 29 October 2010 |
Tama County loses appeal on tribal land issue
October 28, 2010 - By KEN BLACK, TIMES-REPUBLICAN
A Tama County appeal on a Meskwaki land issue was rejected by the Interior Board of Indian Appeals last week.
The decision paves the way for the Sac & Fox Tribe to put 257 acres of land into a federal trust. That makes the land exempt from local property taxes. The land is already owned by the tribe.
The land includes four tracts adjacent to the Meskwaki Settlement. When land is put into a trust, it means it is generally not subject to state laws.
The land in question provides approximately $7,000 in tax revenue to the county.
"It's just another chunk of ground we are going to lose taxes on," said Tama County Supervisor Dan Wilkens. "Eventually, somebody's going to have to step up and make the county whole."
The county argued in its appeal that these tracts of land were not a big deal in and of themselves. However, the supervisors said the tribe keeps amassing land and that leads to more and more tax revenue being lost.
More than a tribal issue, Wilkens said it was an issue with federal policy concerning how counties are reimbursed, or not reimbursed.
"It's not the tribe we have a problem with; it's the government," he said.
In approving the transfer, the Bureau of Indian Affairs stated, "The impact on the county from the loss of tax revenue resulting from trust acquisition is minimal."
The bureau also noted the tribe's contributions to the county in terms of paying more than $75,000 annually in contracts with the county for services including fire and ambulance coverage, jail use and waste disposal.
The appeal was also dismissed in part because the county failed to follow up on some issues, according to the ruling.
"No opening brief was received from the county. The regional director and the tribe filed separate briefs to which the county did not respond," the ruling stated
The bureau had not heard from the county since filing a notice of appeal.
Wilkens said the entire issue would likely have been moot regardless.
"The county lost before we ever filed the notice," he said.
http://www.timesrepublican.com/page/content.detail/id/534523/Tama-County-loses-appeal-on-tribal-land-issue.html?nav=5005 |
