Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, The: Payments tied to tribes' gaming due today; Status uncertain on

With a cloud of uncertainty surrounding Indian casino compacts following last year's state Supreme Court ruling that Gov. Jim Doyle overstepped his authority, payments from the state's two largest tribes due today are in question.

Payments from Wisconsin's 11 tribes, negotiated with the state in return for expansion of gaming operations, are due at the end of the state's fiscal year.

While nine of the tribes have signaled they're paying either by check or wire transfer, the status of payments from the Potawatomi and the Ho-Chunk Nation were uncertain Wednesday. Combined, the tribes are scheduled to pay roughly $104 million by today.

On Wednesday, a spokesman for the Forest County Potawatomi declined to say whether the tribe, which operates the state's most profitable casino, will make its $43.6 million payment. Last year, the tribe paid the state $40.5 million as a sign that it was negotiating in good faith.

Most of Wisconsin's other tribes also paid up last year, except for the Ho-Chunk Nation, which withheld its $30 million payment and has filed for arbitration with the state. Jon Greendeer, Ho-Chunk executive administrative officer, said the tribe will not make any payments until negotiations are settled through an arbitrator within six months.

"My hope is that we come to an agreement that we both can be happy with and it comes relatively quickly," Greendeer said Wednesday.

An aide to Marc Marotta, secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Administration, said the state expects that about $35 million in tribal payments from nine tribes, including $20 million from the Oneida, will be paid today.

"We expect the tribes to pay. We're still waiting on the Potawatomi," said Sean Dilweg, Marotta's executive assistant. "With or without the Potawatomi, the state will still be in the black. We'll end with a balance."

Dilweg said the state is close to reaching an agreement with the Potawatomi but the matter may not be settled by today.

The state Supreme Court ruled last year that Doyle exceeded his authority by signing an agreement with the Potawatomi that did not have an expiration date and allowed other games such as craps and roulette. Since then, the state and tribes have been negotiating new deals.

But Greendeer pointed out that the Ho-Chunk will not agree to pay as much money to the state as it did in the previous compact because the governor cannot offer a deal without an expiration date.

"It ended up costing over $94,000 to litigate that case while the governor had $207 million (in tribal casino payments) in hand. We'll never see those numbers again," said Greendeer, who added that when the tribes renegotiated the compacts two years ago, "we negotiated for perpetuity. That's what we paid for. The only likely way we would see those payments is in return for perpetuity."

The Legislative Audit Bureau reported last week that state tribes earned $516 million last year after expenses.

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