Embattled North Las Vegas City Manager Qiong Liu is appealing the City Council’s decision to terminate her contract after alleging that she tried to give herself a retroactive $30,000 raise without council permission.

Liu’s attorney, Kathy England, confirmed to The Nevada Independent on Monday that Liu would contest the City Council’s 4-1 vote to terminate her for cause earlier this month, and requested a public hearing to contest the council’s decision. The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported the news last week.

City spokeswoman Delen Goldberg did not return an email seeking comment on Monday, but told the Review-Journal that the public hearing will be held during the council’s March 7 meeting.

“The City Charter and Open Meeting Law dictate the process afforded to Dr. Liu to explain her reasons for trying to process a retroactive pay raise she knew was not approved by the City Council as required by the City Charter and by law,” Goldberg told the newspaper. “The situation is unfortunate, but we will continue to take the proper actions to protect taxpayer dollars and uphold the integrity of our city.”

North Las Vegas’s city charter allows a manager to request a public hearing contesting the vote to terminate within 15 to 30 days of the initial vote taken by the council to remove them from office.

Liu’s firing came nearly a month after she terminated the employment of Assistant City Manager Ryann Juden, a close ally of Mayor John Lee. Liu rescinded the firing a day later and took an immediate leave of absence, but city officials voted against approval of a separation agreement after saying they had discovered evidence of Liu attempting to give herself a retroactive pay raise without council approval. 

Although Lee had downplayed his involvement in Liu’s departure, a public records request by The Nevada Independent revealed that he had signed a handwritten agreement with Liu outlining the terms of her departure earlier in January. Liu has called the firing a "witch hunt" and "personal vendetta" brought against her by Lee after she fired Juden.

England also said that she and Liu had filed several public records requests with the city, including:

• A request for calls, emails and text messages between Lee and Juden over his termination and “any efforts, ideas or strategies” to address his firing, Liu's continued employment and a memorandum signed by Liu and Human Resources Director Cass Palmer outlining terms of her departure.
• Copies of two investigative reports into Liu that the city attorney's office mentioned to the council during its Feb. 7 meeting and any documents related to the report.
• Copies of all documents collected during the investigations, including an interview by attorney Scott Mahoney with Liu on Jan. 30.
• Copies of call logs or cell phone billing showing calls between Lee and Juden in January and February 2018.
• Liu's inbox and sent emails between Sept. 1, 2017, and Jan. 10, 2018.
• All emails sent by Liu to the City Council between Jan. 3 and Jan. 9, 2018.
• Any notes, memos or drafts created by Lee or Palmer related to the Jan. 10 memo outlining terms of Liu's departure.
• The inbox and sent mail of Liu's assistant from Sept. 1, 2017, to Feb. 12, 2018.
• Records of any city employees who received retroactive pay increases granted to their anniversary date after receiving a raise between the years 2015 and 2018.