With elections a week away and threat of a lawsuit still hanging, the Cherokee Tribal Council is considering a proposed budget that includes a pay raise of nearly 5 percent for its members.

The construction cost for a new fire and rescue training center at Haywood Community College has clocked in more than $1 million higher than expected, prompting soul searching among college leaders and county commissioners over whether to go ahead with the project as planned.

Swain County Board of Commissioners approved a $14 million budget last week with little discussion or debate. 

Macon County commissioners weren’t exactly sure what to expect when they saw Thing 1 and Thing 2 sitting in the front row at the proposed budget public hearing.

The town of Waynesville has rolled out a budget plan for the coming fiscal year that’s nearly identical to the year before.

Jackson County residents will avoid a tax hike for one more year, if commissioners choose to adopt the proposed budget for 2015-16.

Swain County schools are requesting an additional $250,000 from the county commissioners to cover some much-needed building maintenance projects at all four schools.

A stalemate over whether to raise property taxes in Sylva ended last week with the majority of town board members opting to take money out of the town’s reserve fund to cover a $140,000 projected shortfall in next year’s budget.

Haywood County Schools will get a modest 2 percent increase each year for the next three years in its student per capita funding from the county.

A budget-trimming effort in Macon County has leaders in multiple counties talking about what’s fair when it comes to community college funding. Charged with proposing an as-small-as-possible budget in advance of expected hard times ahead, Macon County Manager Derek Roland eyed a $200,000 line item for Southwestern Community College.