Prof. Richard Painter Interviewed by KTTC News About Legality of Rochester Regional Sports Complex Changing Construction Scope

Professor Richard Painter, S. Walter Richey Professor of Corporate Law, was interviewed by KTTC News about the city of Rochester changing the construction scope of its sports complex. The funding for the complex was approved by voters after the State Legislature allowed a vote on the tax to proceed. The Rochester City Council recently decided to build the outdoor portion of the project first and delay the indoor portion until enough money can be raised because the project was estimated at nearly $60 million over budget. Some taxpayers have claimed that their votes to fund the complex were misled. Prof. Painter said it is vital to ensure voters were properly informed about the project’s change of plans. He said, “If they revised this plan without going back to the voters, they have betrayed the voters. Spending the voters’ money, taxing the voters without telling the voters what’s going on; they should all be voted out of office if that’s what they did.”