To Pay Or Not To Pay

Petitions circulated by the Columbus Coalition for Responsive Government ask voters to end arena payments Jan. 1, 2016, according to the Columbus Dispatch, with future payments decided in additional elections.

Coalition president Jonathan Beard told the paper the petitions stem from voters being denied the right by the city council to vote on the arena purchase.

The city isn’t sweating the petitions just yet, however.

Politicians told the Dispatch the Coalition’s petitions lack summary language required by state law and include a number of “irregularities.”

“Whether they are substantive enough to tell them to go back to the drawing board, I can’t say at this point,” elections board chairman Doug Preisse said.

If the arena measure passes in May, the city could wind up in court over the arena contract, the paper noted.