Defendants in pay raises case ask for dismissal

fr defendantsAbout 20 tribal members filled the audience benches in Cherokee Tribal Court last week, watching the first court hearing in a lawsuit decrying pay raises Cherokee Tribal Council gave itself in 2014. The suit’s defendants were asking Judge Sharon Barrett to dismiss the claims.

Lawsuit over council pay raises makes its way to Annual Council

fr lawsuitsA year’s worth of time and a shakeup in leadership haven’t been enough to take the pay raises Cherokee Tribal Council voted itself last year out of the public eye. With a lawsuit already filed in the tribe’s court system, the impending legal battle took center stage during Annual Council last month.

Lawsuit filed against former tribal leadership

cherokeeThe day after Cherokee’s new chief and vice chief took their oaths of office, a lawsuit naming nearly all the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians’ elected leaders from the previous term found its way to the courthouse.

Dispute over Cherokee pay raises headed for court

fr cherokeelawsuitA group of Cherokee people angry over Tribal Council’s decision last fall to give itself a 15 percent pay raise and back pay is planning to file a lawsuit against its members this month.

Taking the good with the bad

haywoodCommissioner Kirk Kirkpatrick remembers many Haywood County budget hearings in which the public was absent from the process, but that was not the case this year.

Haywood proposes 2.5-cent tax hike to pay for employee raises

fr haywoodtaxesHaywood County commissioners say a property tax increase is needed to dig the county out of a recession-era backlog.

Haywood commissioners ponder property tax hike to give county workers raises

fr haywoodbudgetHaywood County commissioners are contemplating a property tax increase to pay for raises for county employees.

Cherokee members threaten to sue over raises, back pay for elected officals

fr cherokeecouncilWhen the Cherokee Tribal Council voted to give itself a hefty pay raise last fall — $10,000 extra a year plus tens of thousands in backpay for the years when it supposedly should have already been receiving those extra dollars — the decision aroused the ire of a staunch contingent of tribal members who deemed it illegal.

Elections board threatens Swain with lawsuit

fr swainelections“We’re not on trial here,” said Swain Commission Chairman Paul Carson. 

But the commissioners’ meeting room did feel more like a courtroom once Board of Elections Chairman John Herrin took a seat in front of the board last week and laid out all of the paperwork to prove his case.

Questions continue about Cherokee council raises

fr tribalcouncilEditor’s note: Cherokee Tribal Police would not allow Smoky Mountain News Staff Writer Holly Kays entry into the Cherokee Tribal Council chambers to report on this meeting, which took place on Dec. 11. This story was written after watching a DVD recording of the meeting.

It’s been two months since Cherokee Tribal Council members voted to increase their salaries by $10,800 — and receive backpay for the years when the raises supposedly should have gone into effect — but that hasn’t been enough time for the public reaction to the increases, which many believe to be illegal, to cool down. 

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