Days After 2 Residents Filed a Suit Over a $15,000,000 ‘Gift’, Arizonan Treasury Blocks Funds for ‘The Oldest Rodeo’

Sometimes the local governments of a few states allocate a hefty sum to some sports organizations for their betterment. But these allocations can also land the organizations in trouble for all the legal issues. A similar incident happened at a local rodeo in Arizona, where people, with the help of some political activists, filed a lawsuit against the rodeo. A hefty sum of $15.3 million was budgeted for the rodeo, but the neighbors took help from a legal rights group to sue the rodeo.

It looks like their lawsuit has been considered by the government, and the release of the funds has been blocked with immediate effect.

The funds won’t be released

The release of the funds has been blocked by the State Treasurer’s Office. The amount was allocated to Prescott Frontier Days Inc., the organization that is running the rodeo in the state. According to the Arizona Center for Law in the Public Interest (ACLPI), the rodeo was found to be a defaulter under the Gift Clause and the Appropriations Clause of the Arizona Constitution.

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As reported by Arizona Capitol Times, there was no clarification given by the rodeo about the usage of funds, and this allocation to Frontier Days was a part of the one-off allocations to the non-government entities. Danny Adelman, the executive director of ACLPI, stated, “The Prescott Frontier Days folks, even acting in good faith, could have put this money toward consulting or advertising or who knows what. And the public wouldn’t have gotten anything in return for those tax dollars.”

There was a hearing on the case last month, and all the authorities, including the attorney, the treasurer, and the attorney general’s office, came to a mutual decision that a restraining order be issued against the allotment of the funds. One of the other reasons for this restraining order is that there was no public welfare involved to value the taxpayers of the state. Now these allocated funds are supposed to be used for a $40 million redevelopment project on rodeo grounds.

What went wrong with the rodeo

Prescott Frontier Days is situated near Phoenix, Arizona, and it was sued by Howard Mechanic, a political activist, and Ralph Hess, Yavapai County Superior Court Judge, along with some other locals. They accused the organization of saying that such a substantial amount cannot be used for a rodeo operation. In the lawsuit, it was mentioned that this amount will violate state law, and the taxpayers will face the responsibility of covering unauthorized and unlawful expenses.

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