Amador County – The Amador County assessor has determined land slated for future construction of a $150 million casino near Ione has reached a status available to put it on the county’s tax defaulted property list, as reported last Tuesday by Supervisor John Plasse.
The land is owned by the Buena Vista Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians, which consists mainly of one family.
County Counsel Martha Shaver said the assessor has been assessing real property taxes against the land, whose owners reportedly have not paid property taxes in a number of years.
She said this is because they are “awaiting the eventual determination in court that this land is a reservation and not subject to taxation.”
Amador County announced in July it will seek to appeal a federal judge’s determination that the Secretary of the Interior acted properly in approving by inaction the compact between the Buena Vista Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians and the State of California.
Shaver said the county is arguing the land is ineligible for gaming under federal law. She said the county firmly believes that the Buena Vista land is not tribal land. She referred to the previous determination as a “procedural ruling” which “never got to the issue of whether this is Indian land.”
She said the county is filing a written appeal next month, to be followed by a counter argument from the tribe’s representatives and a decision in the federal Court of Appeals in January. If the appeal is turned down, she said, the county may request it be reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court, although that is “not an appeal by right.” Allowing further appeals beyond January is up to the court.
Plasse said the court’s decision “may affect the decision as to whether Amador County decides to leave the (land) on the tax defaulted property list or not.”
In addition to appealing the federal ruling on the gaming compact, both Amador County and “Friends of Amador County” are currently appealing a recent decision by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) authorizing the tribe to discharge treated wastewater into an unnamed tributary of Jackson Creek.
Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
