Chairman Nelson's End of FY17 Statement

Tuesday, October 3, 2017 - 1:12pm

Dear Tribal Members,

Fiscal Year 2017 End: It’s with great pleasure to share with the Tribal Council; each program voted on, back in May 2016, ended in the BLACK (none overspent). This makes two (2) years in a row of doing fundamentally sound business. This makes auditing and our promise to the federal government to stay off “high risk” very relevant of great accountability and opens venues for other possible grant ventures and stability. Great job frontline employees and the administrator Mr. Arterberry, amazing! The continual task of accountability at hand isn’t done yet. This new Fiscal Year (October 2017 – September 2018) will see and experience:

  1. Outsource of accounting to come In-house: Major savings to the tribe.
  2. Opening of the Comanche Nation Court: Pays for itself and adjudicates civil & criminal.
  3. Opening of the Comanche Nation Education Center: (4-6), Elementary, Junior and Senior High, College and Vocational Prep. Plus, Language, Cultural, and by all means possible – “100% NUMUNU”: Also, the continuance of testing center, media center, and continual GED certifications. Projected savings $1,500,000.
  4. Adding relevance to Living Assistance Center, Single or Married dwellings for our Comanche Elders.
  5. Submission of GC Resolution #2010-01 for finality of acceptance or declination.
  6. Opening of new Comanche Nation Housing location.

This is only a snapshot of the continual work within Fiscal Year 2018. We have to continue this positivity, always being proactive and never stop progressing our Great Comanche Nation for the next generations coming forward. Hopefully, one day we can all utter blessings rather than meaningless negatives. Every Comanche in my opinion has a contribution and positive solution, bring it forward. The Comanche Nation Financial outlook: Last year the Business Committee showed our Net Worth, that number came to a rounded number of $151,000,000. What does this mean for an ever growing population? No matter what the world throws at us, we do have tangible assets to re-work or re-group. Our job as the Business Committee is to increase our net worth and Thank You to this past Secretarial Election in giving us the stability our government needs.

Over the past decade we’ve had “soft finances” which is casino earnings, today is that day we bring “hard dollars” through new businesses that are innovative and can bring more back into the Comanche Nation financial coffers. No longer will our Nation be victimized by any outside interest, non-Comanche entity that benefits over us, those days are over. Gaming has been transformed by great accounting that emulates a Top 100 American Business. Gaming is now set for any and all encroachments that may take revenues, this is a real threat, we the Business Committee have been proactive in staving off encroachments. If you start to see new ventures dotting our Comanche Nation jurisdiction, be vigilant with us in staving off competitors and any financial threat to our Nation. Do know this didn’t happen overnight, past ignorance of encroachments were being planned by neighbors over 3 years ago, to ignore competition is to concede defeat. This Business Committee is having to play catch up to what should’ve been argued 3 or more years ago.

Back to the real positives, Great News, a historic PER CAP year has been earned by Comanche Nation Entertainment. After review of the past 7 years, we, the Nation have been lucky in the past, Thank God. Today, the Nation has CEO Mr. Michael Starr who has brought thirty (30) years of making revenue for Vegas businesses and numerous Tribal gaming ventures, his mentoring will bring much needed expertise to our Comanche Nation Entertainment theatre. It’s a new day where professionalism abounds. Our retail ventures have been stabilized and future revenues look optimistic, the tax collection has increased by 12%. Do know this fact, the State of Oklahoma keeps wanting more Indian Tribal monies because they’re broke, our retail ventures will need to diversify for this eventual threat from the State of Oklahoma. The year 2020 is looming and of course the headlines read; “State of Oklahoma needing more Tribal Gaming Money.” We have to be ahead of the game as Gaming Compacts come to re-negotiations. Out financial outlook is good, we have to diligently assure this continues. In closing, the old biblical truth of, “A house divided cannot stand”, is still true. May we ALL collectively put differences aside and come with solutions and solutions only.

May God continue to bless our Comanche Nation.

Chairman William Nelson, Sr.
Vice Chair Susan Cothren
Secretary/Treasurer Robert Tippeconnie
CBC 1 Johnny Poahway
CBC 2 Eddie Ahdosy
CBC 3 Ronald Red Elk
CBC 4 Clyde Narcomey

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