Tsaile Wheatfields Dineh Water User

“The Board of Directors includes two sisters, Anelda Keldety and Amelda Begaye. They are active members of the community and have contributed much of their time to the efforts of the organization. The Bylaws include a conflict of interest policy. The rural Native community served is small and many residents are related by blood, marriage or clan. So it becomes difficult to avoid relationship issues. The policy requires board members to divulge any conflict issues that may occur during the course of business to the entire board and the remaining board members determine if the conflicted member(s) must exclude themselves from discussions and votes to avoid any perception of a conflict of interest.”

“Membership to the Tsaile-Wheatfields Dineh Water Association is automatically provided to all those community members who hold tribal permits to designated lands for agricultural and ranching purposes. There are 127 such permits in the Tsaile, Wheatfields and Blackrock district. The permits are regulated according to the Navajo Nation Grazing Act.”

“Each year the completed Form 990 draft is reviewed by the Board of Directors for accuracy and completeness. After review and, if needed, modification, then final acceptance is made before a public meeting is held to present the Form 990 to its membership. The members may make comments to the years activities and finances. Copies of the form are available at the organization's office upon request.”

“The organization has adopted a Conflict of Interest policy within its bylaws. After each election for Board membership, the newly elected members must divulge to the board any existing conflict of interest they may have concerning relationships through marriage, blood, work/business, like organizations or land allotments. This statement is updated on an annual basis. In regular board meetings, when reviewing the agenda for comment, the Board President will ask if any board member has a possible conflict of interest with any agenda item. Is so, the remaining board members will decide the severity of conflict on a case by case basis. Any member with a conflict of interest cannot participate in any discussion or voting on such matters.”

“Individuals were brought on staff in 2017 through a large allocation of tribal funds from the Navajo Nation for agricultural and ranching improvement purposes. At that time, job descriptions were develop as well as the wages for each position. These were developed using like positions in the surrounding area and statewide. Compensation was also researched in the same manner. A committee was created to review these job descriptions and compensation proposed before they were presented to the Board of Directors for review and approval. The Navajo Nation which provided the funds were also presented with the proposed positions and wages for approval and allocation of funds. These positions are not permanent and are subject to funding limitations. The wages have not been updated due to funding issues.”

“Each year the completed Form 990 draft is reviewed by the Board of Directors for accuracy and completeness. After review and, if needed, modification, then final acceptance is made before a public meeting is held to present the Form 990 to its membership. The members may make comments to the years activities and finances. Copies of the form are available at the organization's office upon request. Form 1023 is also available upon request at the organization's office in Wheatfields, Arizona.”

“All organic documents to the Tsaile-Wheatfields Dineh Water Association are available upon request from the Office located in Wheatfields, Arizona.”

“Our major funding source did not appropriate new year funds due to issues with a collaborative entity. Therefore, our services were severely limited although we did provide community members with assistance as much as possible and maintained some office operation while funding negotiations were in progress.”