There’s a new sense of urgency on the part of government types who have been waiting to get their hands on millions of dollars in promised payments from the Four Winds Casino.

The Local Revenue Sharing Board held a special meeting on Monday afternoon. Members discussed the possibility of meeting once a week, instead of once a month, until the dispute was resolved.

The first casino payment was due last December. Instead, it was withheld. About five million dollars is said to be at stake.

While a representative of the Pokagon Band of the Potawatomi Indians was invited to today’s LRSB meeting—that didn’t happen.

The revenue board did send a letter to the tribe asking for a list of potential meeting dates that could be honored.

Last week, the tribe signed a new compact with the State of Michigan that seeks to resolve the local dispute.

While that compact promises that the tribe will become active in settling that dispute, for some that can’t happen soon enough.

“Because the language of the compact is not really any more clear than the previous compact,” said Berrien County Administrator William Wolf. “Until we nail down these interpretations to everybody’s satisfaction it’s unlikely we’re going to see any of the money forwarded for distribution.”

That means the local board isn’t likely to get its hands on the casino cash, until it can get a member of the tribe to sit at the table—face to face.

“They were invited, we sent a letter out to them asking them to attend,” said Local Revenue Sharing Board Member Roland Oselka.

Oselka said he understood the tribe couldn’t make today’s meeting on such short notice, but he did say it “was important that they make the next meeting” on November 10th.

While the board was clearly eager to free up the casino cash, some cautioned against trying to move too fast.

“I think if we start in the negative by trying to make some of the decisions by ourselves without the full cooperation of the tribe and a fifth member, we're setting ourselves up for failure,” said Local Revenue Sharing Board Member Rusty Geisler. “If it takes an extra month or two to do the process right, let's do it right and have the money sooner.”