WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. — The 25th Navajo Nation Council’s Naabik’íyáti’ Committee received a report from the Navajo Nation Fiscal Recovery Fund Office, the Office of Management and Budget, and the Office of the Controller on the process of accessing Revenue Replacement Funds on Aug. 15.
“The request for this report was made through several committee meetings by delegates who are being questioned by their chapters about this process,” Speaker Crystalyne Curley explained.
During the report, council delegates expressed concern and frustration over the lack of updates that have been presented to the chapters on the process moving forward.
In May, the 25th Navajo Nation Council adopted Resolution No. CMY-28-24, a measure aimed at protecting the Navajo Nation’s Fiscal Recovery Funds, or American Rescue Plan Act funds, from reversion to the federal government.
CMY-28-24 recaptured $768 million of unobligated and unexpended ARPA funds and reallocated $521 million of the $768 million to the newly established “Revenue Replacement Reserve” within the Navajo Nation’s General Fund. “Revenue replacement” is an eligible classification under the U.S. Treasury Final Rule guidelines which provided the Navajo Nation with eligible uses of funds under the ARPA.
OOC has utilized this allowable classification to reimburse the general fund for eligible expenses for “government services” during the pandemic. This classification is retroactive for reimbursement of government expenses back to March 2021.
Council delegates said they feel uninformed about the timelines and processes by which their chapters can access the Revenue Replacement Funds.
Executive Director of OMB Dominic Beyal reported that the process of transitioning K-account budgets, associated with delegate region projects, to Navajo General Funds is an unusual and unique situation.
“This is a first in my experience. We had to determine how we would do it and how it would work,” Beyal said. “We have initiated the work to do this and we’ve found glitches that we must work through. That’s where we are now.”
Executive Director of the Fiscal Recovery Fund Office Lisa Jymm said her office has been de-obligating and transitioning ARPA funds over to being classified as general funds while creating correlating account numbers.
“We went through all these accounts. We are working now on the Section 3 Delegate Region Project Funds and continuing to process new business account numbers,” Jymm said.
Alva Tom, OMB Budget Officer, attested to meeting and collaborating with OOC and the NNFRF Office to transition Delegate Region Project Funds over to the general fund.
“The main thing we have to do is go through and set up 458 business units,” Tom said. “We are at the first step. We are waiting for [the] NNFRF office to provide forms for naming conventions then we’ll set up the business units and obligations.”
For many council delegates, the process is moving too slow, causing chapter projects to be held back from moving forward.
Council Delegate Nathan Notah, dissatisfied with the report, called for a more extensive update to be presented directly to the chapters.
“All you talked about in your 20-minute presentation as a panel was converting the K-accounts to general funds,” Notah said. “I can’t take this info home to give to my chapters. I need more substantial info from the presenters.” .
Delegate Germaine Simonson agreed with Notah’s statement.
“We are getting a lot of questions from the chapters,” Simonson said. “I recommend that NNFRF and the Division of Community Development get into the communities to provide this report to the chapters. We need this info to get out to the communities.”
Controller Sean McCabe explained that CMY-28-24, effectively allows the Controller to utilize Navajo Nation Unreserved, Unidentified Fund Balance to keep chapter projects moving while the current process is being refined and implemented.
“In order to keep the funds moving and available, we have utilized the authority of the Controller to utilize the UUFB,” McCabe explained.
Delegate Vince James further questioned what changes in the law need to be made to make sure these funds become available.
“I work very well with my chapters and you’re holding us back,” James told the presenters. “I want to move forward.”
The Naabik’íyáti’ Committee voted 12 in favor and one opposed in accepting the report.
Staff Reports
