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Dear Editor:
Carmel’s central planners went a full year without issuing new debt from November 2024 to November 2025. This dry spell encouraged many taxpayers to believe the debt addiction had been whipped.
But Jan. 22, 2026, was a different matter. City central planners fell off the wagon:
- $32 million more debt for improvements to infrastructure in the Gramercy Project.
- $13 million in principal.
- $19 million in interest.
That, in a nutshell, is the central planners’ addiction.
The market doubts their projects, which is why interest on principal is 146 percent. How many other bonds have been approved but have not yet been marketed is another issue. It’s like the classic drunk who hides bottles of booze all over the house while pretending to be sober.
We poor taxpayers are left holding the liquor store bill.
Bill Shaffer
Carmel