Section ADM.04.04 — Administration of Programs.

(a) General. The Council and its designees shall be charged with the responsibility and authority to administer all Programs called for by this Ordinance. All powers and duties conferred on the Council or a designee shall be exercised or performed in the exercise of its discretion regardless of whether the provision conferring such power or imposing such duty specifically refers to such discretion. All decisions of the Council upon all matters within the scope of its authority shall be binding and conclusive upon all persons. This provision is not intended to eliminate a Beneficiary's right to seek reconsideration from a negative Council decision arising from a matter under this Ordinance as provided for under the Ordinance.

(b) Official Capacity. All actions taken by an authorized individual to administer Assistance and Programs shall be conclusively presumed to be done in the individual's official capacity.

(c) Eligibility and Application Procedures.

(1) The Council or its designee shall prepare written Program Guidelines.

(2) No payments shall be made in connection with a Program to or on behalf of individual Beneficiaries, unless a specific Program authorizing such payment has been approved by the Council or its designee.

(3) Program Guidelines may limit Assistance to an identified group of Members or Qualified Nonmembers, as applicable.

(4) Subject to the availability of funds, the Program must be available equally to all individuals who meet the eligibility requirements, which shall not discriminate to the detriment of individuals on the basis of race, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, income, geographic location or physical or mental disability.

(5) All Programs may be limited by budget availability.

(6) In the absence of specific Program Guidelines to the contrary, all Programs shall incorporate eligibility criteria necessary for compliance with Code Section 139E.

(7) The Tribe reserves the right to include or reject individual means testing as an eligibility requirement in a Program. The Tribe recognizes such testing can be appropriate in some instances but may be inconsistent with cultural and community values for other Programs.

(d) Documentation. The Tribe or its designee shall keep books or records deemed appropriate to demonstrate compliance with the Ordinance. Beneficiaries are responsible for maintaining books or records as may be required for substantiation to the IRS for individual income tax purposes.

(e) Source and Character. The Council may designate funding sources that are available for the payment of Assistance benefits including those from grants and contracts, operating trust funds, economic development settlement monies, and/or other revenues including without limitation indirect cost recovery, investment earnings, casino equipment fees and current and prior year casino distribution monies. Payment of Program benefits from a funding source with preferential tax treatment, resource or asset protection shall retain said status to the extent permitted at law.