The Lake County Commissioners have asked Gov. Brian Schweitzer to take gasoline tax revenue off the table in the state's ongoing negotiations with the Tribes over gaming jurisdiction issues.

In a letter to the governor last month, the commissioners said they were "shocked" to hear that the governor is considering offering $500,000 in gas tax revenue to the Tribes as an incentive to reach an agreement, after the state and Tribes couldn't come to terms on a state gaming compact prior to a Nov. 30 deadline.

However, the Salish and Kootenai tribes are the only tribal government of the seven in the state that doesn't receive gas tax revenue, according to figures provided in the governor's Tribal Relations Report for 2006.

Schweitzer traveled to Polson on Nov. 29 to tell his side of the story of the failed gaming negotiations, which caused the shutdown of all Class III gaming on the reservation at midnight Nov. 30. Tribal council members said they felt he hadn't worked hard enough to come to terms with them, citing the fact that the negotiation process had been ongoing since May, 2006. Schweitzer did provide the Tribes with a temporary agreement which would have extended the compact through May, in hopes of reaching an agreement by then, but the Tribal council declined to sign it.

At the Polson public meeting, Schweitzer said he does not have the legal authority to grant the Tribes full jurisdiction over gaming on the reservation, but he did make several references to providing them with additional revenue, including revenue from state gasoline tax coffers, in an effort to make up for some of the revenue the Tribes feel they are losing from gaming rights.

But the county commissioners said providing gas tax revenue to the Tribes will ultimately affect local gas tax revenue, which is used to maintain county roads and buy equipment. They urged Schweitzer to withdraw that item from negotiations, saying that Tribal members only make up 20 percent of the county's population, and that the Tribes aren't responsible for maintaining county roads.

"It is blatantly unfair to all counties, especially Lake County, to take $500,000 annually out of the gas tax to satisfy the gambling compact and yet the Tribes only represent 20 percent of the population," the commissioners wrote.

Every time a consumer purchases a gallon of gas, a portion of that goes to state and federal coffers. Of the federal taxes paid, a portion of that is returned to the state, which then allocates funds to each county largely based on population, commissioner Mike Hutchin said.

According to revenue figures provided by the commissioners to Schweitzer, Lake County has received about $181,000 annually, on average, over the past three years, and the county is projecting about $183,000 in gas tax revenue for 2007.

If Schweitzer were to give $500,000 of gas tax revenue to the Tribes, that $500,000 would come out of all counties' gas tax revenue received from the state, not just Lake County's, so the loss of revenue would be spread out across the state, Hutchin noted.

"Let's say that $500,000 represents five percent of total gas tax revenue around the state. We'd lose five percent of our gas tax across the board," he said. "Ultimately, it's money taken away from the county."

Although they didn't include it in the letter, Hutchin said the commissioners believe Schweitzer lacks the authority to shift gas tax revenue around anyway.

"We think it's illegal. It's an appropriation that he can't do. That's money that goes to jurisdictions for maintenance of roads, and to purchase road equipment," Hutchin said.

But in Schweitzer's report on tribal relations released two weeks ago, the Flathead Indian Reservation is the only one of the state's seven reservations that does not have a gasoline revenue sharing agreement with the state.

The Blackfeet Tribe received $1,026,265 in gas tax revenue in 2006, the highest of any tribe, while the Ft. Belknap reservation received $182,482, the lowest of the six. The average payout was $625,705 for 2006.

It was not clear from Schweitzer's report whether any of those gasoline revenue-sharing agreements with other tribes were the result of gambling compact negotiations, and Schweitzer did not return a phone call seeking comment before presstime. Tribal communications director Rob McDonald was also unavailable.

State gas tax revenue is also used by the Montana Dept. of Transportation to maintain state roads, in addition to being funneled to counties. Locally, Lake County maintains 1,138 miles of roads, the commissioners noted.

While the Tribes maintain tribal housing and some other infrastructure needs, they do not maintain any county roads, Hutchin said. Therefore, taking money out of the county's road budget when tribal members only represent a portion of the county population is a disservice to the county, he said.

"It is also unfair because essentially the Tribes do not maintain the public roads traveled every day by all citizens," the commissioners wrote.

The full text of the letter appears on the opinion page, A4.