Chapter's budget cannot cover aid for increased utility bills

By Brian Hassler
Staff Writer

SHIPROCK — Shiprock Chapter officials admit that they probably have no way to help people on fixed incomes to pay the higher utility bills which Navajo Tribal Utility Authority's likely approval of a 7.2 percent price hike will create.

"The hardest impact will be on the elders with the fixed income," said Duane "Chili" Yazzie, Shiprock Chapter President. "Even though it sounds minimal, seven dollars over a hundred is significant for them."

Yazzie added that the number of elderly or those with a fixed income in Shiprock is about 30 percent of the chapter, a number that is lower than the rural areas of the reservation in which 60 percent of those communities are elderly or on a fixed income.

"We don't have any kind of budget to take care of this kind of thing," said Yazzie. "I guess the good part to the surcharge is that I understand it's a temporary deal. Once the mine starts back up or they recover the loss they are anticipating, then they will remove it. The chapter doesn't have any kind of assistance program to immediately help those families."

Currently there are no contingencies within the Navajo Nation to offset the additional costs that will be voted on by the NTUA while the office of the president of the Navajo Nation has noticed the effects of the mine shutting down.

"This is an example of the ripple effect in the economy," said George Hardeen, of the office of the president and vice president. "The loss of the Black Mesa mine has caused this and it doesn't effect just people that work there but everyone that is customer of NTUA. There will probably be other effects as well because of the mine shutting down."

Hardeen added that Navajo Nation president Joe Shirley, Jr., can approach other areas of government to make sure that the cost is minimal for the elderly and low-income families but that there is only so much that can be done.

Elderly members do get a discount from the NTUA but that discount won't apply toward the 7.2 percent surcharge hike that will be voted on.

"The bill comes in, they get the discount for whatever percentage there is, then the surcharge is added to that," said Kenneth Craig, NTUA acting general manager. "The money that is lost every year that mine and plant are closed down and so it will have to be made up every year until the mine opens. It's an interim thing and as soon as the mine and plant come back online, it will be dropped. Every year they are closed, there will be a surcharge."