WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. – Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren got to do Thursday what he enjoys most: save jobs.
With an American Rescue Plan Act deadline looming, on Wednesday the Navajo Nation Council amended its 2021 ARPA legislation to save 105 Navajo employees’ jobs.
“If the Council had not made this change,” the President told Council delegates, “cer-tain ARPA Fiscal Recovery Funds would have to be returned to the Navajo Nation this weekend. This action means that we are ensuring that employees whose positions are currently funded with ARPA Fiscal Recovery Funds will be working beyond this weekend.”
Lisa Jymm, director of the Navajo Nation Fiscal Recovery Fund Office, said 96 of the saved jobs are permanent positions and nine are temporary. Had Council not acted swiftly, processing ARPA contracts would have stalled, she said.
“We would have had to lay off everybody,” Ms. Jymm said. “Then nobody would have been able to process all these contracts that are federally funded.”
Navajo Nation Controller Sean McCabe said the Council’s action and the President’s signing of the legislation moves internal deadlines to be in line with the federal deadline.
“We didn’t just arbitrarily move a deadline,” he said. “We made a decision to align with what the federal Treasury deadline is. We saved 105 jobs and minimized audit risks. And that’s important.”
President Nygren commended the Council for coming together to get the emergency legislation passed and onto his desk quickly.
“This legislation was definitely from the hearts and minds of our Council,” he said as he signed the legislation into law. “This shows you’re really trying to make sure that we save some jobs. That was the most important thing about this.”
He said it was needed because of the heavy task ahead “which is the spending of $1.2 billion ARPA dollars over the next several years, and really coming up with creative options that the Council and my staff have been working on.”
He said that meant making sure these jobs are secure.
“Jobs are hard to find,” he said. “What’s great about this legislation is to know that we’re going to secure these 105 jobs over the next several years and we’re going to get ARPA done, done, done.”
Council delegates Otto Tso of Tuba City and Casey Johnson who represents Cameron, Coalmine Canyon, Birdsprings, Leupp and Tolani Lake, thanked Director Jymm and her staff who attended the legislation signing.
Ms. Jymm said 25 of the employees who would have been laid off work in her office. The rest are spread through the various executive branch divisions.
“Thank you for all the work you’ve done and all the hours you’ve put forth,” Delegate Johnson said. “We want you to continue to work hard. It’s not for us. It’s for our Nation.”
Delegate Tso said for people with families, there’s little more important than a job to support them.
“Jobs are very important to save,” he said. “They’re the bread and butter at home. They feed someone else at home. We have to keep the Nation moving.”
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