Economic Impact of the Snoqualmie Indian Tribe

Jonathan B. Taylor The Taylor Policy Group May 2017 sqwed (Snoqualmie Falls) Findings in Brief

As reservations have become more economically dynamic, As its purchasing and payroll extend outward, the Snoqualmie nearby non-Indian communities have benefitted—both the trad- Tribe is responsible for an estimated 1,628 jobs in the Cities of ing partners who provide workers, goods, and services to reserva- Snoqualmie and North Bend, up to almost 2,500 jobs statewide, tions and the governing partners who coordinate the regional pro- and estimated gross regional product impacts of $209.1 and $285.2 vision of public goods and services with tribal governments. million, respectively.

The Snoqualmie Tribe’s status as a recognized and organized The gross regional product impact includes tax impacts caused sovereign government bolsters its economic impact. Its enterprise when purchases and payroll ripple through the state-taxable econ- income is government revenue, giving the Tribe a vested interested omy. Snoqualmie Tribe activity yielded estimated taxes of $33.4 in the economic stability of the region. million in the Snoqualmie Valley Study Region, $38.4 million in King County, and $44.9 million statewide in 2015. Under the direction of the General and Tribal Councils, Tribal managers implement Snoqualmie policy across a range of domains The Snoqualmie Tribe is a regional export engine. More than similar the state and federal governments’, but also particular to 80 percent of the Casino’s slot machine revenue recorded in the Snoqualmie’s mission to “provide traditional, social, cultural, eco- player loyalty club comes from outside Snoqualmie Valley. Only five nomic, and natural resources for all Snoqualmie people.” percent of that revenue comes from North Bend and Snoqualmie, compared with 39 percent coming from Seattle, Bellevue, and In fiscal year 2015, Snoqualmie Casino employed 1,568 Renton. workers (95% of whom were non-Indian) and paid $65.5 million in total employee compensation From 2010 through 2015, the Snoqualmie (wages, benefits, and payroll taxes). Tribe gave $5.3 million to local nonprofits, span- ning domains as diverse as health, youth and In fiscal year 2015, Snoqualmie family, the environment, the arts, and pub- Tobacco Company and Liquor Store paid lic broadcasting. The Tribe has directed almost $1 million in total employee com- nearly 25% of its contributions to organi- pensation (wages, benefits, and payroll zations in or near the Snoqualmie Valley. taxes). Multiple intergovernmental agree- The combined 1,760 jobs of gov- ments mean that the Tribe jointly bears ernment, casino, and store operations the costs of economic development with make the Snoqualmie Indian Tribe one other governments, and its charitable and of the major employers of the Snoqualmie programmatic contributions in the region Valley. further bolster its economic impact.

Economic Impact of the Snoqualmie Tribe 3 I. Introduction

Indian Country today bears the imprint of history—the leg- partners who provide workers, goods, and services to reservations acy of conflict endured, of treaties made and broken, and of gov- and the governing partners who coordinate the regional provision ernment promises unfulfilled. Indians living on reservations earn of public goods and services with tribal governments. In place after incomes that are fractions of what other Americans enjoy, and they place, American Indian economic development has created bene- carry financial, social, and cultural costs that few other American fits off the reservation. communities do [1,2]. History matters—still. This is a story of just such a resurgence—the recent economic But Indians are making history too. As never before, tribes are history of the Snoqualmie Indian Tribe. It is a story of persistence, Gaming Compact with State of ashington Approved Reservation Established resurgent. Indian self-determination has yielded economic growth, achievement, and generosity. Most of all, it is a story of economic cultural revitalization, and—increasingly—social recovery and growth with impacts that extend to the nearby Cities of Snoqualmie repair. As reservations have become more economically dynamic, and North Bend and to the Snoqualmie Valley generally. 999 Snoqualmie Federal Casino Opens nearby non-Indian communities have benefitted—both the trading Status Restored Cigarette Ta Compact Between Snoqualmie and ashington

9 Snoqualmie Indian 93 BIA roposed Claims Commission Decision 9 Indian Self-Determination Snoqualmie Tobacco Company a Reservation and Education Assistance Act and iquor Store Opens

9 Snoqualmie Tribal Government 99 First ritten Treaty of oint Elliott Reorganiation Constitution 93 Snoqualmie 9 Indian Gaming Fuel Ta Agreement Between Recognition ost Regulatory Act Snoqualmie and ashington

Removal, Reservation, and Treaty Era Allotment and Assimilation Era Reorganization Era Termination Era Self-Determination Era - -93 93-93 93-9 9-resent

4 Taylor 2017 As reservations have become more economically dynamic, nearby non-Indian communities have benefitted.

Gaming Compact with State of ashington Approved Reservation Established

999 Snoqualmie Federal Casino Opens Status Restored Cigarette Ta Compact Between Snoqualmie and ashington

9 Snoqualmie Indian 93 BIA roposed Claims Commission Decision 9 Indian Self-Determination Snoqualmie Tobacco Company a Reservation and Education Assistance Act and iquor Store Opens

Removal, Reservation, and Treaty Era Allotment and Assimilation Era Reorganization Era Termination Era Self-Determination Era - -93 93-93 93-9 9-resent

Economic Impact of the Snoqualmie Tribe 5 WASHINGTON

Treaty of Point Elliott Cession, 1855

I-5

II. Snoqualmie Self-Government Snoqualmie Reservation (proposed 93) The Snoqualmie—the People of the Moon—are one of the from historic times to the present. The Tribe strove quickly to make many tribes constituting the Coastal Salish of Washington’s Puget up for lost time. It reformed its constitution to better describe its Snoqualmie Territory Sound region. Snoqualmie Falls, one of many sacred sites, is the membership criteria and the rule of law, including how to resolve birthplace of the Snoqualmie people and central to their spiritual disputes. Snoqualmie has a General Council comprising all citi- traditions. Since time immemorial, Snoqualmie people hunted deer, zens, the adults of which can vote. The Tribe’s nine-member Tribal Seattle I-405 elk, and other game, fished for salmon, and gathered berries and Council governs the Tribe on a day-to-day basis using enumerated Judicially Established Snoqualmie Land, 1978 plants for sustenance and medicine throughout the region. powers that range from buying land and levying taxes to chartering corporations and promoting public health. In The Snoqualmie Indian Tribe’s pow- 2006, the United States proclaimed an ini- ers of self-government are among the hard- Snoqualmie’s status as a tial reservation of 55 acres—land the Tribe Snoqualmie est-won in Indian Country. Snoqualmie leader recognized and organized had to purchase itself. And in November Indian I-90 Patkanam signed the Point Elliott Treaty in sovereign government 2008, the Tribe successfully opened the I-90 1855, ceding aboriginal lands to the US Snoqualmie Casino, which has since become Reservation, 2006 Government while reserving certain treaty bolsters its economic impact. an economic engine for the Tribe and a major rights. During this time, the Tribe was one source of jobs and opportunity for the region. of the largest in the Puget Sound region with I-5 about 4,000 members. The US government promised the Tribe that The Snoqualmie Tribe’s status as a recognized and organized it would one day receive its own reservation. But that promise, like sovereign government bolsters its economic impact. Its enterprise so many others, was never kept. A Snoqualmie reservation was pro- income is government revenue, giving the Tribe a vested interested I-82 posed in 1937 but never came to be. Many Snoqualmie stayed in the in the economic stability of the region. The Snoqualmie People area, but some moved to other reservations around Puget Sound. have lived in the Snoqualmie Valley since time immemorial and will always be here. The Tribe will not leave Washington for a tax Despite being left landless and without the resources to sup- break elsewhere. And unlike most other businesses, tribally-owned I-182 port themselves, the Snoqualmie people persisted. In 1999, after 46 enterprises are directly linked to localized socioeconomic invest- years of Snoqualmie petitioning, the federal government re-recog- ment. Snoqualmie—like so many tribes—is investing in its culture, nized the Tribe on the basis of demonstrated community continuity people, and environs as never before. I-82

Presentation here of Snoqualmie boundaries as reported by the United States and others does not imply the Snoqualmie Indian Tribe’s acceptance and/or endorsement of the boundaries or the processes that produced them.

6 Taylor 2017 WASHINGTON

Treaty of Point Elliott Cession, 1855

I-5

Snoqualmie Reservation (proposed 93) Snoqualmie Territory

I-405 Seattle Judicially Established Snoqualmie Land, 1978

Snoqualmie Snoqualmie Falls Indian I-90 City of I-90 Snoqualmie Reservation, 2006 Snoqualmie Tribe UGA S Land Holdings no qualmie River I-5

I-82I-90 Snoqualmie City of Indian North Bend Reservation

I-182

I-82 UGA

Economic Impact of the Snoqualmie Tribe 7 III. Snoqualmie Tribal Government Activity

The Snoqualmie Tribal government today operates a variety of programs and initiatives with a mission to “provide traditional, social, cultural, economic, and natural resources for all Snoqualmie people.”

Under the direction of the General and Tribal Councils, Tribal managers implement Snoqualmie policy across a range of domains similar the state and federal governments’, but also particular to Snoqualmie. These range from the licensing of key Casino person- nel and maintaining cultural practices to providing public safety and ensuring environmental protection. Tribal operations employed 192 full- and part-time workers in fiscal 2015 and paid $6.4 million in total employee compensation (wages, benefits, and payroll taxes).

Indians have long defended their prerogatives of self-government—tribal sovereignty—and modern tribes like Snoqualmie recognize that they are situated in a matrix of governments that requires intergovernmental collaboration. Multiple agreements tes- tify to Snoqualmie’s practice of working with other governments.

Employees of the Month. The Culture Department performing at the 2016 Elders’ Retreat. The Tribe’s gaming compact with Washington State articulates Construction of the new convenience store and gas station. a form of electronic gaming device known as the “Tribal Lottery System,” consistent with state law. It determines Snoqualmie’s allo- cation of such machines and a process for leasing additional device rights from other tribes. It allocates regulatory oversight between the Snoqualmie Gaming Commission, an independent regulatory body, and the Washington State Gambling Commission. The compact also requires Snoqualmie to make contributions to governmental or nonprofit organizations that help reduce problem gambling # ! ! and tobacco use. And it requires the Tribe to invest in the health ! and welfare of the community by providing for programs that ben- " efit everyone, including law enforcement, governmental services, job training, healthcare, and public works [3].

8 Taylor 2017 “Without [support] from the tribal programs and employment opportunities, I’m really not sure where I would be.”

In July 2011, Clayton Burley, a Snoqualmie Tribal accumulated, and Clayton’s talents began to shine. His manag- Member, received what he calls his “last second ers noticed and encouraged him during trainings. Eventually they chance” when the Snoqualmie Tobacco Company entrusted Clayton with more responsibilities and Clayton continued and Liquor Store hired him as a cashier. He didn’t to rise above expectations. know it at the time, but this job—working for his nation—would set Clayton on a new path. This story is remarkable not only because it illustrates the positive impact of employment, but also because it demonstrates the strength Clayton struggled with methamphetamine and and potential behind tribal benefits. The Snoqualmie Tribe’s eco- cocaine addictions in his early adulthood. Theft- nomic success meant that it could support Clayton with benefits related felonies and misdemeanors soon followed, specific to Tribal Members. An emergency assistance grant, the and Clayton found himself in and out of jail. In 2010, he left prison Housing and Urban Development program, food assistance, and for the last time. He was 33 years old, clean, and determined to medical and dental care all helped Clayton on his path to self-suffi- regain control of his life. ciency. As a dad, Clayton was also better able to care for his young daughter through the Tribe’s support for school-related activities and During this time, the Snoqualmie Tribe’s economy was growing. expenses. Reflecting on this he said, “The training, development, and The Snoqualmie Casino had opened a few years earlier and now investment the Tribe has made in me is something I never thought I the Tribe was hiring for its newest enterprise, the Tobacco Company deserved before… I truly feel that I was given my ‘last second chance’ and Liquor Store. through the store, which has allowed me to take my place in society.” The Snoqualmie Tribe was investing in him and he was repaying his After prison, Clayton’s employment record was hard to establish. nation—his people—with hard work. He applied to positions but was rejected in favor of other applicants. When he saw the Tobacco Company job openings, he hesitated. Clayton is now a Supervisor at the store—one of five remaining Would he qualify? Would his past hurt his chances? Clayton’s family employees from the first cohort—and he’s preparing for more respon- knew he could do it. They saw firsthand how Narcotics Anonymous sibility. The successful Tobacco Company and Liquor Store will helped Clayton make amends with himself, his family, and his com- expand into a convenience store and gas station in 2017, and Clayton munity. With his family’s support, Clayton applied. will be there, promoted to be the new store’s Inventory Manager. He will continue to help manage the store, but more importantly, he Clayton interviewed and was hired in the first cohort of employ- will continue to inspire and help other Tribal Members. Clayton also ees for the Tobacco Company and Liquor Store. He started as a remains active with Narcotics Anonymous, holding true to his com- cashier and put his heart into the job, never missing an oppor- mitment to “give back what was so freely given to me.” tunity to give customers a positive experience. Small successes

Economic Impact of the Snoqualmie Tribe 9 oqua Sn lmi e R iver

The Tribe’s cigarette compact with Washington State requires, among other things, that Snoqualmie levy a cigarette tax on non-Native cigarettes that is at least as large as Washington’s tax. That compact further stipulates that Snoqualmie tobacco revenue must be spent on essential government functions [4]. Snoqualmie’s fuel tax compact with Washington establishes a 75% refund to the Tribe of Washington’s motor vehicle fuel taxes collected on the Reservation. It stipulates that the Tribe will spend the funds on transportation infrastructure and related services [5].

At the local level, the Snoqualmie Tribe and the City of Snoqualmie just signed a new four-year agreement for treatment of the Casino’s wastewater [6]. For emergency fire, rescue, and medical services on the reservation, the Tribe has an agreement with Eastside Fire and Rescue, a partnership of cities and fire dis- tricts serving much of the Snoqualmie Valley [7]. These agreements and others like them are exercises of tribal sovereignty. They not only play a part in determining the economic impact of the Tribe, but they also demonstrate Snoqualmie’s commitment to sharing responsibilities with other governments.

Perhaps the most publicly visible government activity of the Snoqualmie Tribe police vehicle. Tribe is the Snoqualmie Casino. This wholly government-owned enterprise opened on November 6, 2008. In fiscal year 2015, it employed 1,568 workers (95% of whom were non-Indian) and paid

10 Taylor 2017 oqua Sn lmi e R iver

Snoqualmie Falls

Its combined 1,760 jobs of government, casino, and store operations make the Snoqualmie Indian Tribe one of the major employers of the Snoqualmie Valley.

$65.5 million in total employee compensation (wages, benefits, and payroll taxes). These workers specialize across more than a dozen ! $ departments with responsibilities that span everything from market- ing the facility to monitoring and enforcing internal financial con- trols. The casino’s 170,000 square feet house 1,700 slot machines, 54 gaming tables, and a poker room. The Casino also contains two entertainment venues and seven eating and drinking establishments, including a buffet, café, sushi bar, cigar lounge, and restaurants. ! $ In addition to the Casino, the Tribe owns and operates $ Snoqualmie Tobacco Company and Liquor Store. Opened in 2011, &# this small store sells cigars, cigarettes, dip tobacco, beer, and spir- its. In fiscal year 2015 it paid almost $1 million in total employee compensation (wages, benefits, and payroll taxes). In the spring $ of 2017, the store will be superseded by a larger, adjacent convenience store that will also offer motor fuels and employ five more $%" people. The Tribe also operates Snoqualmie Fireworks Supply, a temporary stand, from late June through July 4th. ! !

Its combined 1,760 jobs of government, casino, and store oper- #$ ! # ations make the Snoqualmie Indian Tribe one of the major employers of the Snoqualmie Valley. Of these jobs, 207 are held by residents of North Bend and 96 from the City of Snoqualmie. As the !" next section demonstrates, the Tribe’s payroll and vendor outlays have a large economic and fiscal impact on the area.

Economic Impact of the Snoqualmie Tribe 11 NAFOA Deal of the Year

In 2015, the Snoqualmie Indian Tribe received the “Deal of the Year” award from the Native American Finance Officers Association (NAFOA). The award celebrates innovative financial ventures that have “lasting positive effects” for a tribe and its people while also providing Indian Country with an exemplary financial solution.

By way of background, state and local governments have long issued tax-exempt bonds to finance projects. In 1982, Congress passed the Indian Tribal Governmental Tax Status Act, giving tribes tax-exempt status similar, but not identical, to that of states. Tribes could issue tax exempt bonds but only for “essential governmental functions,” whereas towns and counties could issue bonds for golf courses, water parks, and other nonessentials. With passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in 2009, TED Bonds become an additional tool tribal governments could use to finance projects beyond strictly “essential governmental functions.” Now, like states and municipalities, tribes use TED Bonds to finance projects ranging from golf courses and convention centers to hotels and entertainment halls.

In this instance, Snoqualmie saved millions in an innovative five-year, $310 million comprehensive refinancing. The deal included a provision to reallocate $105 million of taxable debt into tax-exempt debt by issuing Tribal Economic Development (TED) Bonds. The Tribe used the proceeds to pay off existing debt at Snoqualmie Casino, and used the new financing terms to reduce its overall debt burden, directly assisting future generations of Tribal members. The tax-exempt tranche was among the largest TED bonds in 2014, and because it forced Internal Revenue Service clarifications about tax-free conversions, the transaction established precedents that will benefit Indian Country for years.

12 Taylor 2017 SS Customers’ Ta es aino Ependitures Tobacco ompany iquor Store SS ireor Stand

Tribal Net ayroll Taes Income u rchas ing ashington State Social roram apital roect Economic Diversiﬁcation ation Buildin Enironmental etoration SS Snoqualmie s ae Tribe T

IV. Gross Economic Impact

The Snoqualmie Tribe’s operations do not exist in economic isola- electricity and hires employees from off the Reservation. It also transfers tion. A tribal natural resources program, for example, requires tree nurs- funds to the Tribal government—either as net income or tribal taxes— ery services, electricity, lab equipment, and pickup trucks, none of which that the government uses to run its programs, purchasing saplings for may be produced on a given reservation. Small, undiversified econo- habitat restoration or paying nurses’ salaries. Those purchases and pay- mies—whether Indian or not—depend on trading partners. Washington checks enter the diverse Washington economy, generating tax revenue tribes have relied on non-Indians for about two-thirds of their workforce for Washington. and have purchased the preponderance of their goods and services from outside their reservations [8]. The Snoqualmie Indian Tribe is no excep- Economic input-output models estimate the direct, indirect, and tion: 95 percent of Casino employees are non-Indian, and virtually all induced spending that emanate from an activity or policy change. The goods and services are purchased outside the Reservation. The com- direct effects are the activities themselves as they are experienced in bined $73 million in payroll and benefits make a substantial contribu- the region under examination—for example, the Casino’s payments to tion to the vibrant regional economy. food distribution companies and employees, and the Tribe’s payments to construction companies and accountants. The indirect effects encom- Thus, contrary to misperceptions that customer spending goes onto pass the economic activity of the suppliers—for example, the diesel reservations to disappear from the state-taxable economy [9]—Indian purchases of the food wholesaler’s trucking division. And the induced reservations are integral participants in the Washington economy. When effects are the economic impacts generated by the household spending customers play and have dinner at Snoqualmie Casino, their expendi- of the workers in both the direct and indirect impacts—the food deliv- tures quickly register in the Washington economy. The Casino purchases ery truck driver’s and the Casino employee’s incomes.

Economic Impact of the Snoqualmie Tribe 13 Snoqualmie Tribe activity yielded estimated taxes of $33.4 million in the Snoqualmie Valley.

Snoqualmie I-405 alle S

S n Given the configuration the Snoqualmie Tribe’s economy— o Su eion I-5 q ualm ie especially its government ownership of a Casino—it is important R

e r to model the impact not as a generic casino impact, but instead via the actual purchases made by the Tribe and its Casino. Accounting Seale City of data from the Tribe help paint a more precise picture of the sec- Snoqualmie toral impact (as funds are actually spent) and of profit impact (that is, as spent by a tribal government locally rather than distributed I-90 to shareholders around the global economy). The economic geog- i o raphy begins with the City of Snoqualmie, Snoqualmie and North o en Bend together, and the Snoqualmie Valley Study Region1 and works outward from there to King County and Washington State. I-5 Snoqualmie nian The adjacent table reports IMPLAN estimates of the total eseaion Snoqualmie impact of the Snoqualmie Tribe’s purchasing in fiscal year 2015— alle the Snoqualmie Tribe’s contributions to gross regional, county, Su eion and state product. As expected, the total impacts increase with the scope of geography; the larger regions contain the smaller ones and are more economically diverse—i.e., more capable of self-supply without importation. The jobs impacts behave similarly, with the Snoqualmie Tribe responsible for an estimated 1,628 jobs in the Cities of Snoqualmie and North Bend up to almost 2,500 jobs statewide. It is important to note that within the value-added totals—the gross regional product estimates—there are tax impacts caused when purchases and payroll ripple through the state-taxable economy. IMPLAN estimates that Snoqualmie Tribe activ- Estimated Annual Regional Economic Impacts ity yielded taxes2 of $33.4 million in the Snoqualmie Valley Study dollars in millions Region, $38.4 million in King County, and $44.9 million state- total value added jobs wide in 2015. Snoqualmie $201.4 1,523 Snoqualmie & North Bend $209.1 1,628 Snoqualmie Valley $216.6 1,666 King County $274.8 2,154 Washington State $285.2 2,485 [10]

14 Taylor 2017 V. Net Regional Economic Impact To iins o ustoes and oes

Of course, the Tribe’s patrons have competing alternatives for o evenue o jobs their leisure budgets, and if the Snoqualmie Casino, restaurants, Seattle 14 and stores did not exist, those customers might spend their dollars elsewhere. Such substitution effects are important to weigh against the impacts described above. Bellevue 13

True as that is, several factors mean that Snoqualmie Tribal Renton 12 12 North Bend economic activity is net beneficial to the Snoqualmie Valley. Most importantly, the Snoqualmie Casino attracts customers from the Seattle metro area into the Snoqualmie Valley. More than 80 percent of the Casino’s slot machine revenue recorded in the player loyalty club comes from outside Snoqualmie Valley. Ranking that by customer hometown, only five percent of that revenue comes from North Bend and Snoqualmie, compared with 39 percent coming from Seattle, Bellevue, and Renton alone. 8 Renton

By contrast, 17 percent of Snoqualmie Tribe jobs are occupied 7 Kent by residents of the City of Snoqualmie and North Bend. Because 7 Seattle the Snoqualmie Casino hires locally to produce services that people Issaquah 6 from elsewhere want to enjoy, it is a net contributor to the Valley’s gross regional product, that is, a net contributor to labor income, 5 Snoqualmie property and proprietor income, and local taxes. Such a finding is 5 Bellevue consistent with systematic research showing net employment bene- 5 Issaquah Redmond 4 4 Male Valley fits arising from casinos and from American Indian economic devel- Kent 4 opment [11-16]. Sammamish 4 North Bend 3 In addition, the Snoqualmie Tribe donates faithfully to the community under the terms of its gaming compact with the State and Snoqualmie 2 even goes beyond the terms of that agreement. The Snoqualmie Male Valley 2 2 Sammamish Tribe also “pays as it goes” when it comes to using services, whether 1 Redmond that be under the newly agreed sewage treatment agreement with the City of Snoqualmie or the agreement the Tribe has with East Side Fire [7].

Economic Impact of the Snoqualmie Tribe 15 The Snoqualmie Tribe’s Contributions Selected Recipients

American Red Cross Consistent with its values for people and the land, the Snoqualmie Tribe United Indians of All Tribes Foundation strengthens communities beyond the reservation. One of the ways that the Snoqualmie Tribe does this is through its casino impact mitigation commitments, Snoqualmie Valley YMCA additional charitable giving, and spillovers from tribal programs and services. Woodland Park Zoological Society Pacific Northwest Ballet From 2010 through 2015, the Snoqualmie Tribe gave $5.3 million to local nonprofits. Snoqualmie’s giving spans domains as diverse as health, youth and National Public Radio - KUOW family, the environment, the arts, and public broadcasting. The Tribe has directed Encompass Northwest nearly 25% of its contributions to organizations in or near the Snoqualmie Valley. Seattle International Film Festival In addition, numerous tribal services benefit people beyond the Snoqualmie Issaquah Salmon Days Tribe itself. Snoqualmie’s Environment and Natural Resources Department works Potlatch Fund with and provides benefits to neighboring jurisdictions, especially through habitat and water quality improvement projects. Family healthcare available through the Seattle Art Museum North Bend Family Clinic, chemical dependency care at the Raging River Recovery Seattle Aquarium Center, and counseling from the Behavioral Health Department help to strengthen all the people within the Snoqualmie area, not just Snoqualmie Indians. These and Total Donations 2010-2015: other contributions go well beyond the mitigation provisions of the gaming com- $5.3 M pact and demonstrate that the Snoqualmie Tribe recognizes its role in the region and the interconnectedness of its communities.

16 Taylor 2017 For the foreseeable future, the Snoqualmie Casino In a similar vein, the Tribe levies many of the same key taxes that non-Indian governments in Washington levy, thereby help- will remain a regional exporter of its leisure ing to ensure that local businesses are not unduly disadvantaged. offerings, to the benefit of employees As noted above, the intergovernmental tobacco compact requires the Snoqualmie Tribes’s tobacco excise taxes to be at least equal and suppliers in the region. to Washington’s. The Tribe also collects the same fuel taxes as all gas stations in Washington State do. And it levies an 8.6 percent tax on food and beverages at the casino, which matches the cur- rent sales tax rate for the City of Snoqualmie.

The Snoqualmie Tribe recruits dollars from the Seattle and Bellevue area. It pays a large portion of its payroll in the Snoqualmie Valley and with its purchasing has a net positive effect on the regional economy (including on regional tax collections). Its agreements to jointly bear the costs of economic development with other governments and its charitable and programmatic contributions in the region further bolster its economic impact.

VI. Conclusion

Language Director instructing a lesson during 2016 Youth Camp. On many key issues, tribes take the long view. They would otherwise not be here today. And the Snoqualmie Tribe has every incentive to foster growth and development for the very long term. Thus, the Snoqualmie Tribe’s impact on the regional economy as explained throughout this report will persist and grow. Though there may be incidental growing pains—the temporary frictions that occasionally emerge at the boundaries between governments over sewer costs, road congestion, and other consequences of growth—those should not distract the City of Snoqualmie, North Bend, and the Snoqualmie Valley generally from the growth that the Snoqualmie Tribe brings to the region. For the foreseeable future, the Snoqualmie Casino will remain a regional exporter of its leisure offerings, to the benefit of employees and suppliers in the region.

Economic Impact of the Snoqualmie Tribe 17 About the Author

Jonathan B. Taylor is an economist with expertise in natural resources, gaming, and 7. Agreement for provision of fire services between the Snoqualmie Indian Tribe American Indian development. He provides counsel to tribes and bands in the United States and East Side Fire & Rescue (a joint operation of King County Fire Protection and Canada consisting of public policy analysis, strategic advice, and economic research. He District No. 10, Fire District 38, City of Issaquah, City of North Bend, and City of has assessed economic impacts of tribal enterprises, assessed tribal tax regimes, assisted Sammamish), November 30, 2015. in tribal institutional reform, provided public policy analysis and negotiation support for resource development, valued non-market attributes of natural resources, and educated 8. Taylor JB. Indian self-government in Washington, Vol. II, The character and tribal executives. effects of the Indian economy in Washington State. In: washingtonindiangaming. org. Cambridge, MA and Olympia, WA: Taylor Policy Group, Inc. and Taylor is President of the Taylor Policy Group, an economics and public policy consultancy; Washington Indian Gaming Association; 2006. Available: http://www. Research Fellow at the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development at washingtonindiangaming.org/images/content/WIGA-Vol-2-Report-8-16-06- the Kennedy School of Government; and Associate at the Native Nations Institute, Udall LoRes.pdf Center for Studies in Public Policy, University of Arizona, Tucson. 9. Washington Research Council. Special report: untaxed and lightly regulated. Endnotes Seattle, WA: Washington Research Council; 2002. 1 The Snoqualmie Valley Study Region consists of the following postal codes: 98014 10. Day F, Olsen D, Thorvaldsen J. Principles of Impact Analysis and IMPLAN Carnation, 98019 Duvall, 98024 Fall City, 98027 & 98029 Issaquah, 98045 North Bend, Applications. 1st ed. Huntersville, NC: Minnesota IMPLAN Group. 98050 Preston, 98053 (east) Redmond, 98065 Snoqualmie, 98074 & 98075 Sammamish. 11. Rose A. The regional economic impacts of casino gambling: Assessment of the 2 These are taxes on production and imports net of subsidies and include sales, property, literature and establishment of a research agenda. State College, PA: Adam Rose motor vehicle, severance, and other taxes at the state and local level. and Associates; 1998. 12. Johnson R. Chapter 5. Impacts of casino proximity on social and economic References outcomes, 1980-1997: a multilevel time-series analysis. In: Gerstein D, Volberg R, Harwood H, Christiansen EM, editors. Gambling Impact and Behavior Study: 1. Taylor JB, Kalt JP. American Indians on reservations: A databook of socioeconomic Report to the National Gambling Impact Study Commission. Chicago, IL; 1999. change between the 1990 and 2000 censuses. In: nnidatabase.org [Internet]. pp. 65–72. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development; 2005 [cited 28 Aug 2014]. Available: https://nnidatabase.org/db/attachments/ 13. Baxandall P, O’Brien P, Sacerdote B. The casino gamble in Massachusetts: text/2005_TAYLOR_kalt_HPAIED_databook.pdf Full report and appendices. In: HKS Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston [Internet]. Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston; 13 Jan 2005 [cited 13 2. Akee RK, Taylor JB. Social and economic change on American Indian reservations: Feb 2016] pp. 1–48. Available: http://www.hks.harvard.edu/content/ A databook of the US Censuses and American Community Survey, 1990–2010 download/68820/1248090/version/1/file/casino.pdf [Internet]. Sarasota, FL: Taylor Policy Group, Inc; 2014. Available: http:// taylorpolicy.com/us-databook/ 14. Taylor JB, Krepps MB, Wang P. The national evidence on the socioeconomic impacts of American Indian gaming on non-Indian communities. Cambridge, MA: 3. Tribal-state compact for Class III gaming between the Snoqualmie Indian Tribe and Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development; 2000. the State of Washington, April 4, 2002, as amended. 15. Akee RK, Spilde KA, Taylor JB. Social and economic changes on American Indian 4. Cigarette tax contract between the Snoqualmie Indian Tribe and the State of reservations in California: an examination of twenty years of tribal government Washington, December 12, 2008. gaming. UNLV Gaming Research & Review Journal. 2014;18: 39–64.

5. Agreement concerning taxation of motor vehicle fuel and special fuel between the 16. Martin J, Contreras KS, Deolalikar A, Gelles P, González-Rivera G, Johnson M, et Snoqualmie Indian Tribe and the State of Washington, April 25, 2012. al. An impact analysis of tribal government gaming in California. Riverside, CA: Center for California Native Nations, University of California, Riverside; 2006. 6. Pappas E. Snoqualmie Tribe and city of Snoqualmie announce four-year sewer service agreement. Snoqualmie Valley Record. 2016.: 1–10.

18 Taylor 2017 This study was sponsored by the Snoqualmie Indian Tribe and conducted under a contract with the Taylor Policy Group, Inc. (TPG). TPG is an independent consulting firm unaffiliated with Snoqualmie Indian Tribe. The views expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of the funding organization or of the institutions with which the author is affiliated.

The Snoqualmie Indian Tribe provided information and photographs not otherwise cited or credited.

This report is set in Concourse and was designed by Amy Besaw Medford.

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, PO Box 1866, Mountain View, CA 94042, USA.

2017

The Taylor Policy Group

PO Box 969 1070 Iyannough Road, Suite 315 Snoqualmie, WA 98065 Hyannis, MA 02601 snoqualmietribe.us taylorpolicy.com qwalbc (Mount Si)