Chapter 16.05
DEBT COLLECTION
Sections:
16.05.040 Debtor classification.
16.05.050 Review of disputed amounts.
16.05.060 Maintenance of debtor’s list.
16.05.080 Licenses and permits.
16.05.090 Future or continued employment.
16.05.100 Debtors employed by the Tribe.
16.05.110 Per capita payments.
16.05.120 General welfare payments.
16.05.140 Debt priority and collection process.
16.05.0l0 Title.
This chapter of the Chehalis Tribal Code shall be referred to as the Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation debt collection ordinance. [Res. 2024-46.]
16.05.020 Purpose.
The purpose of this chapter is to expedite the collection of debt owed to The Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation or its departments, divisions, and subsidiaries, which subsidiaries include but are not limited to the Chehalis Tribal Housing Authority (defined herein collectively as the “Tribe”). Nothing in this chapter shall be interpreted to preclude the Tribe from taking other actions outside this chapter, including but not limited to lawsuits or wage garnishment as provided for elsewhere in the Chehalis Tribal Code, in order to collect debt owed. [Res. 2024-46.]
16.05.030 Definitions.
The following terms and phrases, when used in this chapter, shall have the meaning ascribed to them.
“Contract” means any agreement between the Tribe and a person where the Tribe makes a payment to the person for goods or services provided.
“Debt” means a legal obligation by a person to pay a fixed and certain amount of money to the Tribe. A debt may arise under a personal, business, contractual or statutory obligation, a court order, or other legal obligation, but need not have been reduced to judgment.
“Debt Collection Dispute Committee” means the committee formed to review disputes submitted by debtor.
“Debtor” means any person owing a debt as defined herein and who meets the criteria of CTC 16.05.040.
“Department” means any department or division of the Tribe, including but not limited to the Chehalis Tribal Housing Authority, for purposes of this chapter.
“Net pay” means gross wages minus legally required deductions for Federal, State, and social security taxes.
“Per capita payments” means Tribal payments made or offered to individual tribal members from gaming revenues or any other source. The per capita payment shall be withheld and paid over to the Tribe and credited against the debtor’s debt regardless of whether the debtor requests the payment or complies with any procedures related to obtaining a per capita payment. [Res. 2024-46.]
16.05.040 Debtor classification.
A. The Tribe shall create a list of persons who are debtors. No person shall be placed upon said list unless the following criteria have been met:
1. A tribal employee or agent designated by the director of a department of the Tribe, or Tribal Court, which is owed money executes a statement (“statement”) listing the name of the person owing money to the Tribe, the amount of money owed to the Tribe, a narrative surrounding how the debt was incurred and for what purpose, and the date on which the debt was incurred. Said employee or agent shall attach to this statement all pertinent documentation; and
2. The Finance Accounts Receivable Office of the Tribe reviews the above-referenced statement and determines that there is sufficient evidence that said person owes the debt claimed; and
3. A letter (“letter”) has been mailed via certified first-class mail with first-class postage to the person owing the debt at his or her last known address with the statement referenced in subsection (A)(1) of this section attached requesting the person to either pay the debt in full, make acceptable arrangements to pay the debt to the Tribe, or dispute the debt in accordance with CTC 16.05.050. The letter will be considered received three days after mailing. The letter must state the following: “If you believe the amount of the debt shown to be incorrect or if you have any other reason to question the debt, you must submit a written dispute to the Debt Collection Dispute Committee to contest this matter within ten (10) days after you received this Letter. If you do not bring such an action, the amount of debt may be withheld from your per capita payments or tribal employment payments."; and
4. The person has not disputed the debt by submitting a written request to the Debt Collection Dispute Committee within 10 business days of receiving the letter referenced in this section, or paid the debt in full, or made acceptable arrangements to pay the debt, or the person has disputed the debt but has been determined to owe money to the Tribe pursuant to CTC 16.05.050. [Res. 2024-46.]
16.05.050 Review of disputed amounts.
A. The Debt Collection Dispute Committee will be formed by a random selection of five department directors (or their designate), excluding the CFO and department submitting the debt being disputed.
B. Any person who disputes the amount of debt alleged to be owed to the Tribe pursuant to CTC 16.05.040 may ask the Debt Collection Dispute Committee to review the disputed amount and make a determination as to the amount of debt owed the Tribe, if any.
C. The person disputing the debt may bring any relevant evidence to the attention of the Debt Collection Dispute Committee and may request a hearing before the Debt Collection Dispute Committee for the purpose of presenting his or her argument. The employee or agent of the Tribe who signed the statement in regard to the debt shall attend this hearing and shall present all relevant evidence related to the debt, including all of the documentation discussed in CTC 16.05.040.
D. The Debt Collection Dispute Committee shall review all relevant evidence presented by the person owing the debt and the department to which the debt is owed. Strict rules of evidence shall not apply. The Debt Collection Dispute Committee may consider any evidence that is relevant and possesses probative value. However, the Debt Collection Dispute Committee may exclude evidence that is irrelevant, immaterial, questionable, or unduly repetitious, upon its own determination or upon objection made by a party.
E. After reviewing all relevant evidence, the Debt Collection Dispute Committee shall make a written determination on the validity of the debt and the person disputing the debt. The Debt Collection Dispute Committee shall mail the written determination to the debtor within 10 days of making the written determination. The written determination must be mailed via certified, first-class mail to the debtor at his or her last known address. The written determination will be considered received three days after mailing.
F. Any collection of debt pursuant to this chapter shall be suspended until the Debt Collection Dispute Committee issues a written determination as provided herein. [Res. 2024-46.]
16.05.060 Maintenance of debtor’s list.
The list of debtors created pursuant to CTC 16.05.040 shall be maintained by the Finance Accounts Receivable Office. The Finance Accounts Receivable Office shall remove any debtor from the list who has paid his or her debt in full or has made acceptable arrangements to pay the debt. Any debtor removed from the list shall be placed back on the list if he or she fails to meet his or her obligations under said arrangement. Tribal departments shall provide the Tribal Government Accounts Receivable Office with updated information regarding such debts and debtors in a timely manner. The list of debtors shall be provided to all tribal employees or agents who need the information in order to comply with this chapter. [Res. 2024-46.]
16.05.070 Contracts.
A. No person shall be eligible to enter into a contract to provide goods or services to the Tribe for any purpose unless he or she has no outstanding debt owed; or
1. With regard to contracts where the Tribe is paying the debtor for services performed, the debtor must agree to a clause in said contract authorizing the Tribe to withhold the lesser of the total debt amount due the Tribe or 25 percent of the cost of the contract that is related to services performed; or
2. With regard to any other contract, the debtor has signed a payback agreement or wage assignment on terms acceptable to the Tribal department and remains in good standing with payback agreement or wage assignment until the terms are satisfied. [Res. 2024-46.]
16.05.080 Licenses and permits.
No debtor shall be eligible to be granted any licenses or permits issued by the Tribe for any purpose unless he or she has:
A. Paid the debt owed in full; or
B. Signed a payback agreement or wage assignment on terms acceptable to the Tribal department and remains in good standing with payback agreement or wage assignment until terms are satisfied. [Res. 2024-46.]
16.05.090 Future or continued employment.
No debtor shall be hired as an employee of the Tribe and its subsidiaries or continue in such employment unless he or she has:
A. Paid the debt owed in full; or
B. A signed wage assignment or other payback agreement in place and is current on the payments required pursuant to that assignment or agreement and remains in good standing with payback agreement or wage assignment until the terms are satisfied. [Res. 2024-46.]
16.05.100 Debtors employed by the Tribe.
Consistent with applicable law, the Tribe shall withhold 20 percent of the net pay of any debtor employed by the Tribe unless such a withholding would violate applicable Federal law. Said amount shall be applied toward the debtor’s debt and withheld until the debt is paid in full. Withholding may be done pursuant to a wage assignment for an amount and in a form acceptable to the Tribe in lieu of this section if the debtor agrees to such a wage assignment. [Res. 2024-46.]
16.05.110 Per capita payments.
The Tribe may withhold any per capita payment due to the debtor and apply that amount toward the debtor’s debt, except withholding of any per capita payment shall not apply to any Tribal member that meets the Tribal definition of an elder. Tribal elders may voluntarily agree to or assign their per capita payments to pay a debt. [Res. 2024-46.]
16.05.120 General welfare payments.
The Tribe shall not withhold any general welfare payment, as payments issued under the general welfare exclusion act are not considered income and cannot be applied toward debt owed. [Res. 2024-46.]
16.05.130 Bad debt.
A. Nothing in this chapter shall prohibit a department of the Tribe from writing off bad debt for accounting purposes. Writing off such debt shall not act to remove a debtor from the debtor’s list. Departments of the Tribe which perform significant debt collection activities may forgo placing an individual on the debtor’s list if the costs and efforts to do so outweigh the benefit and the department is using other more effective means, such as a collection agency, to collect the debt. [Res. 2024-46.]
16.05.140 Debt priority and collection process.
A. In the event that a debtor owes more than one debt, any payments made toward the debts pursuant to this chapter shall be paid according to the following priority:
1. Child support;
2. Bankruptcy;
3. IRS tax levies;
4. The oldest debt with the Tribe (department) will be paid first regardless of when the debt was placed on the debtor’s list.
B. The Tribe may select one or more of the collection methods described in CTC 16.05.070 through 16.05.110 to collect amounts to be credited towards a debtor’s debt; provided, that the total amount collected from one or more processes shall not exceed a reasonable amount or the total amount of debt owed.
C. The Tribe shall provide written notice to the debtor within 10 days of the Tribe’s decision as to which collection method(s) the Tribe has selected for repayment of the debtor’s debt. The written notice must clearly state which collection method(s) the Tribe has selected for repayment of the debtor’s debt and the amount to be withheld through each collection method. The written notice must be mailed via certified, first-class mail to the debtor at his or her last known address. The written notice will be considered received three days after mailing. [Res. 2024-46.]
16.05.150 Conflict of laws.
In any case where the terms of this chapter conflict with other policies or chapters, the terms of this chapter shall govern. [Res. 2024-46.]