Negotiations in a months-long dispute between Madera County and the Chukchansi Indian tribe over a multimillion-dollar property tax bill appear to have ended with both sides saying legal action is likely.
The county and the tribe have been working since last spring to reach an agreement concerning the tax status of the land beneath the Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino.

Madera County Tax Assessor Thomas Kidwell has maintained that the tribe owes property tax because the land is held in a simple fee status, the same designation that applies to the average homeowner.

The county recently assessed the resort and casino at nearly $401 million by comparing it to the cost-per-square-foot to build a similar gaming complex in Placer County, near Sacramento. Property tax is about 1% of assessed value.

The tribe claims the land is tax-exempt because it was restored as an Indian reservation under a county legal agreement in 1987.

Kidwell has appeared to stand alone within the county government on his tax stance, even hiring an attorney to represent his view. But that could be changing.

County Counsel David Prentice said Wednesday that the county was through negotiating with the tribe, and he expected the two sides to go to court.

"The county is going to do whatever is necessary to collect the property tax," he said.

On Thursday, however, Prentice softened his earlier statements, saying the county would continue to try to resolve the tax issue. He said legal action, though possible, would be a last resort.

In a statement issued Thursday, the tribe gave no sense that it expects the dispute to be resolved anywhere except in court: "The Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians has exhausted all means to resolve its disagreement with the county of Madera through negotiations and agree that this matter will be resolved through litigation."

The statement also said: "Regardless of whether the land is formally held in trust by the federal government, this land has been set aside for the use and occupancy of our tribe and is, therefore, immune from state and local taxation."

Prentice said he could not comment on possible litigation before going to the Madera County Board of Supervisors.

The tribe's stand is not likely to come as a surprise to the five-member board.

In a letter sent to the board last month withdrawing the tribe's request for a refund of past property taxes, the tribe said that it did not recognize the board's jurisdiction on tax issues involving its land.

Prentice said that, contrary to some public opinion, the county has not been dragging its feet in collecting the property tax.

He said the county is faced with a unique situation -- a casino that sits on fee land -- and has had to proceed with caution while he and other county officials grapple with the complexities of tribal sovereignty.

"It would've been an irresponsible use of public money to rush into court without understanding those issues," Prentice said. "It takes time to do that. Now that that appears to have come to an end, the board will do what it's legally required to do."

In its statement, the tribe said it will continue to honor the Memorandum of Understanding it entered into with the county in August 2001, compensating the county for services provided to the tribe as a result of casino construction.

The tribe pointed to more than $1 million paid to the county to cover the costs of two fire engines, a new fire station, law enforcement and traffic mitigation.

"These payments to the county are ongoing and will continue into the future. The property tax assessment bears no relationship to services provided by the county," the tribe said.