Six Nations Elected Council (SNEC) reported this month that the organization was able to operate under a surplus budget of $10.4 million during it's third quarter (Q3).

The Q3 budget accounts for the time period of April 1 - Dec. 31, 2022, or 75 per cent of the fiscal year.

Jennifer Court, director of Financial Reporting and Analysis for SNEC, said they originally projected a deficit of $3.6 million in regular operations and a surplus of $8 million from the Ontario First Nations Limited Partnership (OFNLP) and Brantford Casino funds. The SNEC added that expenses for both regular operations and OFNLP and Brantford Casino funds were actually not as high as projected, leaving the organization with a surplus budget.

Court said that some SNEC departments were trending towards a deficit budget but, ultimately, that was because funding that was originally included with the projected budget had not been received yet. Meanwhile departments like the CEO's office were able to increase revenue as well.

The director added that SNEC was continuing to take advantage of higher interest rates by using excess cash in short term investments.

"We're continuing to utilize some of our cash in short term investments, guaranteed income investments. That's where you'll see cash is lower, however investments are higher," she said.

"We've been doing that to capitalize on the market where interest rates are substantially higher than they have been in the past and that's also contributing to the excess surplus that we're seeing in the OFNLP and casino funds," she added.

SNEC accepted the third quarter financial statement as information during the Feb. 6 general finance meeting.

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