The Lumbee Tribal Council has adopted a $13 million budget for 2010, a budget that includes a 67 percent increase in stipend for council members and a three percent cost of living increase for tribal employees.

The budget also boosts the monthly stipend that council members and the tribal chairman have been receiving from $300 to $500. The tribal council serves members living Scotland, Robeson, Hoke and Cumberland counties.

“The council meets about 131 times each year, with an average of 16 members at each meeting,” Councilman Welford Clark, a candidate for tribal chairman, said. “Add in cell phone costs, gas, wear and tear on automobiles and time, and it’s clear the current stipend does not cover expenses.”

Clark emphasized the extensive travel that council members incur as they serve tribe members in the tribe’s four-county territory that includes Scotland County. Compared with the compensation that other elected officials receive within the county, the $500 stipend is reasonable, he said.

Except for Clark’s brief comments, there was no discussion about the budget prior to a vote. It was adopted without any opposition.

No copies of the budget were provided to any members of the public attending the meeting, including the media. Alex Baker, a tribal spokesman, said that the adopted budget is available for review at the tribal office, but only enrolled tribal members are permitted to review the document.

The budget allocates $7.63 million for housing rehab, $4.5 million of which is federal stimulus funding. It also includes $4 million for home ownership; $1 million for administration, which covers the salaries and expenses for the tribe’s 150 employees; $335,000 for public relations; $306,000 for elder services; $1,234,861 for youth services; and $173,868 for veterans services.

Tribal Chairman Jimmy Goins said earlier this week that with the additional stimulus money the tribe’s operating budget for the year is actually about $30 million.

“We try to get all of the money allocated in the right places. HUD has to approve where it goes,” Pam Spaulding, the tribe’s finance chairman, said.

In other business:

— A resolution was approved establishing the position of a housing services coordinator assistant.

— An ordinance that would regulate the hiring of felons as tribal employees, contractors and consultants was sent back to committee for review. The ordinance has been vetoed by Tribal Chairman Jimmy Goins, who objects to a provision that places a 10-year restriction on the hiring of any felon as a tribal employee, contractor or consultant. Goins contends that enforcing a felony restriction for all felony classes for a 10-year period is too long.

— The council honored members of a drum group that has been recognized by the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Fayetteville. The group has performed for veterans at the center.

“This makes me so proud,” Goins said while recognizing four members of the group. “These young men are living the Lumbee way.”