The decision by Oneida County lawmakers to oppose settling a decades-old land dispute with the Oneida Indian Nation for $55 million is a “lost opportunity,” the official who helped negotiate the deal said Friday.

The county's 15 Republican lawmakers issued a statement Thursday saying they won't support the plan negotiated by fellow GOP County Executive Anthony Picente to resolve the long-standing land and tax issues. Democratic county lawmakers criticized the proposal almost immediately after it was announced two weeks ago.

“I think everybody here is looking for the perfect deal, and on a complex issue like this, I don't think that exists,” Picente said. “I stand by it, and will continue to. I think it was the best deal for both of us, the tribe and the community. I think it's a lost opportunity that this board has decided to pass on.”

Based on public reaction and legal advice, the Republican lawmakers decided “the plan in its current form was not in the county's best interests,” Majority Leader David Wood said in a statement bearing the names of all 15 Republican legislators.

Under a plan brokered by Picente and Nation Representative Ray Halbritter, the Oneidas agreed to give the county a $30 million lump sum payment, and then $2.5 million a year for 10 years.

In return, the county would drop its legal challenges to the 8,800 acres of land granted trust status by the federal government in May 2008. The tribe also could seek trust status for 1,800 more acres without challenge.

The Oneidas sought to place 17,000 acres of upstate New York into federal trust, where it would be exempt from state and local laws and taxes. The Department of Interior has recommended putting about 13,000 acres into trust, a decision that is being challenged in several lawsuits in federal court. The balance of the land is in neighboring Madison County, which was not part of the proposed settlement.

The deal must be approved by county lawmakers and the state legislature by June 30 or it will lapse.

A vote by county lawmakers is scheduled for Wednesday, and Picente said he has no plans to withdraw the proposal.

“Even though they stated their opposition, they should have to do their job like I've done mine. Let them go on the record officially and defeat it,” Picente said.

County party leaders said they hoped negotiations could be reopened. But Picente said he already negotiated the best terms the county can get.

Wood said the plan was “deficient” and needed provisions for a future annual revenue stream, sales taxes collections, a congressionally instituted cap on trust lands and additional clarification and amendment of its terms.

Picente noted two of those complaints are issues beyond the responsibility of the county. The collection of sales taxes is a state issue, while it is up to the U.S. Congress to address issues related to land going into trust, he said.

Deals between the nation and state and local governments have fallen apart before, and sometimes just as quickly. In February 2002, then-Gov. George Pataki joined local and tribal officials to announce a $500 million settlement under which the Oneidas would drop their claim to 250,000 acres in the two counties. The deal crumbled when the federal government said it wasn't willing to put up $250 million needed to seal the deal.