Shaffer has no plan to stop talking about Carmel’s debt

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Dear Editor:

In one sentence at Monday’s Carmel city council meeting, the unelected director of the Carmel Redevelopment Commission:

  1. Insulted any citizen questioning Carmel’s $1.5 billion debt;
  2. Ignored the No. 1 issue in this year’s municipal elections;
  3. Dismissed state law requiring the city to maintain current debt information for public viewing; and
  4. Brushed off responsibility for the congestion, clutter, clamor, and irrational spending of borrowed funds.

He said verbosely:

“Some people like to go into that website (the Indiana Department of Local government Gateway Indiana site) and look at that number (total outstanding debt obligation) and shouting it from the rooftops (cq).”

This was one segment of a longwinded sentence the $153,357-a-year director used to explain developer-backed bonds.

Director Henry Mestetsky lists no financial expertise in his official biography.

Later in the meeting city councilors tabled $76 million more in borrowed principal for two Mestetsky proposals.

Councilors expressed a desire to allow the newly elected councilors to consider Mestetsky’s logic.

Is it possible to table the director?

Bill Shaffer
Carmel