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Dear Editor,
Recent coverage of Carmel’s $1.4 billion outstanding debt has included unsupported claims by candidates and sycophants defending it. With no evidence, they claim there are funds to cover basic Carmel civic costs when the inevitable economic slowdown occurs.
The mayor cites reserves in the general and rainy-day funds but gives no factual numbers. The city’s filings with the state Department of Local Government Finance (IDLGF) record only a few million dollars in each account.
Three different sets of books are in play. One is the legally required IDLGF numbers. Another is the mayor’s private draft of a fiscal plan unapproved by anyone else, apparently. And the third are the super-secret records of the Carmel Redevelopment Authority and Redevelopment Commission where the really big money goes down.
Having enough to tide over basic city services is one thing. Inevitable, forced, skyrocketing tax increases is another.
It’s not skyrocket science, boys and girls.
Bill Shaffer
Carmel