Gov. Norm Bangerter's appointment of a new Navajo-controlled panel to oversee a multimillion-dollar oil royalty trust fund hasn't ended controversy over the board.
Instead, the reorganization aimed at saving a program rocked by alleged mismanagement and possible fraud has roused its own tempest.Some southern Utah Navajos charge Bangerter has crippled the new Utah Dineh Committee by appointing several people linked to past trust-fund management, including two members of the recently disbanded Utah Division of Indian Affairs Board.
"I do have concerns. Under (the old board's) direction a lot of the money has been mismanaged," said Chester Johnson, a Navajo social worker and member of the new board. "A lot of the community, in the Aneth area especially, is concerned."
The appointments come up for Utah Senate confirmation Aug. 21.
State Rep. David Adams, who represents San Juan County in the Legislature, said the only complaints he has heard come from a vocal minority of Navajos. He supports the governor's appointments.
"You do need some experience and some carry-over knowledge," Adams said.
Marcia Galli, the governor's education expert on the new 11-member Dineh Committee, was chairwoman of the old UDIA Board. A second former board member, Willie Grayeyes, was picked as one of the seven Navajo representatives.
The two were on the old board, but Grayeyes was absent when it made one of its most controversial decisions - a $500,000 loan guarantee to a financially troubled clothing company that within weeks filed for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Act.
Three of the new board members - Grayeyes, Blue Mountain Chapter representative Tully Lameman and business expert Cleal Bradford - also are former board members or directors of the Utah Navajo Development Council.
Over the past three decades, an estimated $60 million has been spent from the Navajo oil royalty trust fund, for which the state acts as a trustee. But residents in the Utah portion of the Navajo Nation have little to show for the expenditures, and many still live without running water or electricity.
The legislative auditor general currently is investigating the trust fund, including allegations of fraud and self-dealing. His report is expected in October.