Officials in Thurston County, Washington, say they are running out of money to pay for a lawsuit filed by the Chehalis Tribe.

The tribe operates the Great Wolf Lodge on trust land. Great Wolf Resorts Inc., a non-Indian company, owns 49 percent of the business.

The county claims it can tax the non-Indian portion of the business. The tribe responded with a lawsuit that is costing the county at least $100,000 -- money that it doesn't have.

“We can’t be adding much right now, especially any place where we have no idea what the final cost might be," county commissioner Sandra Romero told The Tacoma News-Tribune. "We can pretty much assume the other side will have unlimited resources. Thurston County can’t go it alone.”

The county has had to cut its budget by more than $7 million and laid of more than 10 percent of its employees due to budget issues.

Get the Story:
Lodge’s suit stirs budget troubles (The Tacoma News-Tribune 12/11)

Related Stories:
Editorial: Resolve Chehalis Tribe tax dispute in court (4/15)
Chehalis Tribe back in court over tax dispute (4/6)
County stops tax proceedings against Chehalis Tribe (3/4)
Opinion: Chehalis resort tax assessment dispute (11/17)
Judge rejects injunction in Chehalis tax case (10/28)
Chehalis Tribe sues over county property taxes (10/27)
Chehalis Tribe to hire 500 for Great Wolf resort (1/11)
Chehalis Tribe signs $1.5M services deal with county (4/5)
BIA approves Chehalis land-into-trust application (7/10)
Chehalis Tribe reaches deal with Great Wolf Resorts (06/30)
Chehalis Tribe in discussions with Great Wolf Resorts (05/06)