BY ARLYSSA BECENTI
NAVAJO TIMES
WINDOW ROCK — The Navajo Nation will see a $23 million decrease in revenue from the closure of the Navajo Generating Station, according to the Navajo Nation controller’s 2018 revenue projection.
“Because of the volatile nature of oil and gas prices, this revenue projection is subject to change,” Pearline Kick, the controller, wrote in a memo to the president’s office, Speaker LoRenzo Bates and Chief Justice Allen Sloan. “The impact from the Navajo Generating Station and Peabody were considered in our projection.”
During Tuesday’s regular Budget and Finance Committee meeting, Kirk presented figures she had gathered on projected revenue. Also presenting were Martin Ashley, executive director of the Navajo Tax Commission, and Minerals Department Manager Akhtar Zaman.
“The controller’s office as well as the Office of Tax Commission and Minerals Department got together…and met a couple of times to discuss the revenue project for this upcoming year,” said Kirk.
Kirk said the highlight is coal and power plant revenue. Zaman sent Kirk a projection that showed two different scenarios – one with the continuation of NGS and the other without.
“Our office projected the revenues from there,” said Kirk. “We go by the rule of being conservative. Meaning we will be on the safe side.”
So taking the conservative approach, Kirk said they projected total gross recurring revenue of $177.5 million. They also estimated total set aside, which was at $47.1 million, and the total net of the general fund $130.3 million.
Budget and Finance Committee member Leonard Tsosie (Littlewater/Pueblo Pintado/ Torreon/Whitehorse Lake/ Baca/Prewitt/Casamero Lake/ Ojo Encino/Counselor) said that he would like to see the changes in future projections, since the numbers are ever changing.
“A projection is a projection,” said Tsosie. “I would like to see how far we are from week to week, month to month. I’m interested at how you arrived at these projections.”
Speaking about the closing of NGS, Tsosie said the Navajo Nation should have saved it in a different way rather than cater to them or giving up on an ex- tension in NGS terms. He said someone within the financial leadership of the Navajo Nation should have advised the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to vote against the closure of NGS.
Ashley said tax received from NGS was $3 million since 2011; this was from the terms of the NGS lease executed in the 1960s.
“It indicated that there would be a tax waiver for a period of 35 years,” said Ashley. “From the time the last unit goes into operation. The last unit went into operation in 1976.”