After the Amador County Board of Supervisors deadlocked over approval of the Intergovernmental Services Agreement, or ISA, drafted by Tribal and County staff over months of negotiations, the Buena Vista Tribe yesterday announced it will file a demand for binding arbitration, as provided for under its Tribal-State Gaming Compact signed with Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Under rules set up in the Compact and by both parties, the County and the Tribe had until March 18, 2008, at midnight to submit to each other their respective last, best written offers for purposes of arbitration.

Yesterday, the Tribe submitted its last, best written offer to the County. However, the County advised the Tribe yesterday that it will not be submitting an offer to the Tribe. Furthermore, the County stated it will not be participating in the arbitration proceedings. "As the County has acknowledged, the earlier-negotiated ISA offered the County terms and mitigation measures that went well beyond those required by the Compact," said John Tang, CEO of the Buena Vista Rancheria. "Our last, best written offer made to the County yesterday, and the only one that will be before the arbitrator, is nearly identical to the one previously negotiated. We could have made substantial and justifiable changes to the ISA that would have been much more favorable to the Tribe, but chose not to. Half the Supervisors who voted supported the negotiated ISA. We want to build on that.” An arbitrator will be selected in the coming weeks and it is expected that the arbitrator will issue an award by the end of April.