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Dear Editor:
Carmel’s central planners suffered an embarrassing reversal last week that offers valuable lessons for other local governments in Hamilton County.
For months, Carmel’s borrow-and-spend experts have claimed the $1.6 billion debt they’ve created is just $1.4 billion.
As if it mattered.
Their logic was that, since $148 million of principal and interest came from a couple dozen development projects, these “developer-backed bonds” shouldn’t be included in the total outstanding debt.
They went so far as to post the $1.4 billion on the state’s local government finance website.
Wiser heads prevailed and $148 million was added back in last week.
Inventing a name like “developer-backed debt” doesn’t change the fact that debt is debt – by any other name.
I urge my fellow taxpayer-voters to watch their city government operatives like the proverbial hawk.
Bill Shaffer
Carmel
Saw the old mayor respond to your post the other day.
I have a bad feeling he is getting ready to come back and run again. Maybe as an independent or what he really is a Democrat!