A proposal to adjust the salaries of the two top leaders of the Mescalero Apache Tribe of New Mexico is stirring controversy.

Shortly after being sworn in, President Danny H. Breuninger Sr. set a salary of $200,000 for himself and $150,000 for Vice President Robert Gabe Aguilar. He asked the tribal council to approve a permanent salary scale since the current one hasn't been updated in 17 years.

The temporary salary is only in effect for 30 days. But tribal members who heard about it questioned why Breuninger was proposing a change so early in his term.

"I'm very upset myself. In our tradition, you take care of our people first before yourselves," Joseph Geronimo, a former council member, told The Ruidoso News. He said he's been asked to draw up recall papers against the new leaders.

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Mescalero administration salary figures sparks controversy (The Ruidoso News 1/29)

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