Brown County and the Oneida Tribe of Indians have reached a tentative agreement on a contract for road maintenance and law enforcement and other services that expired more than four years ago.
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“There’s been a handshake,” Brown County Executive Tom Hinz said.

A special meeting of the Brown County Board has been scheduled for May 28 to vote on the proposed agreement. County Board Chairman Guy Zima said he will share details of the agreement with other supervisors in a closed session Wednesday to give them a week to review it. The terms of the service contract were presented to the county’s executive committee in a closed session Monday.

The agreement also would have to be approved by the Oneida Business Committee.

Zima said Thursday that he thinks the terms of the agreement will be acceptable to both the county and the tribe.

“At this point, it seems reasonable,” Zima said. “I can’t speak for other people, but I thought it was reasonable.”

Neither Hinz nor Zima would disclose details of the tentative agreement.

The last service agreement between the county and tribe was signed in November 2001 and expired two years later. The tribe paid the county $500,000 for services in 2002 and 2003 but nothing since.

Hinz, who was elected in April 2007, renewed negotiations with tribal officials last summer and has said repeatedly that progress was being made toward an agreement.

“It’s long overdue,” said Zima. “Credit can be given to the new executive and the committee that worked with the tribe on this.”

Oneida Tribal Administrator Bill Gollnick also spoke hopefully about the proposed agreement.

“The terms will be considered by both the Oneida Business Committee and the Brown County Board before the end of this month,” Gollnick said. “We look forward to the adoption of this agreement.”

The tribe has not been able to reach a similar agreement with the village of Hobart.