City Council Update 11/18/24
Hello Neighbors! Here to give you an update of the most recent council meeting, land use meeting and exciting happenings in Carmel.
My husband and I were able to attend the Wundernacht at one of my favorite events in the city, the Christkindlmarkt. You will hear more about this in the update.
CITY COUNCIL MEETING UPDATES
Invocation
Pastor Jessica Stevens from Carmel United Methodist Church opened our meeting and reminded us all to work together to make Carmel a better place.
Special Recognition
The Carmel Police Department Chief Sterling introduced new officer Travis Brady was sworn in by the Mayor! We welcome this new officer to our Carmel community.
Citizens who wish to address the council: Another one of our citizens addressed the council and requested the council to continue to work on transparency around the Christkindlmarkt.
Mayoral Updates
Henry and Marshal Johnston presented the update, informing the council that the City of Carmel achieved a AA bond rating from the S&P global rating, the best possible rating for a city of our size. The council and mayor's office working on the strategic plan for 2025 and the city is accepting applications for the 2025 arts grants.
Report from City Departments
The Parks Department reported on the health of our award winning parks system. The most exciting updates were those for the White River Greenway, Hazel Landing Park and an amazing new indoor kids playground at the Monon Center. We are so lucky to have the strong leadership of Michael Klitzing, who has grown and maintained the status of Carmel Clay Parks and Recreation as one of the best parks systems in the country.
The Audit Committee report was given by Santosh Rajmane who reported that city had a clean and fair audit and that moving forward the city's auditor would now be the state board of accounts. There has been a question of whether in the current structure of city government the audit committee really has a significant role. The committee admitted that they did not have much involvement in the current process and procedures. This finance committee will review the responsibilities and roles and make a recommendation of the value of the audit committee continuing in its present form
Ordinances & Resolutions
Ordinance D-2726-24- Third Amendment to the Interlocal Cooperation Agreement
Remains in the Land Use Committee.
Ordinance D-2740-24: Amends Chapter 2 Article 1 sections 2-1,2-3,2-6,2-10,2-12,2-13 &2-14 of Carmel City Code
Clarifies the duties and components of government
Remains in Finance Committee
Ordinance D-2741-24: Amends Chapter 2 Article 6 sections 2-302,302 and 303 of Carmel City Code
Ordinance amending the budget procedures of the City of Carmel
Remains in Finance Committee
Petition for Ally/Street Vacation or Order to Remove Obstructions
Remains in Land Use Committee
Resolution CC-11-18-24-06: A confirmatory resolution designating an economic revitalization area and approving tax abatement for qualifying certain personal property Alliance of Cooperative Energy Services Power Marketing LLC
Resolution confirming the designation of the real property located at 4140 W 99th St, Carmel as an economic revitalization area and granting a partial abatement of property taxes attributable to certain eligible equipment installed therein.
NOTE: I believe that the capital investment of 6M in personal property and the retention of 214 current positions and increase of 45 more employees at an average salary of $118,000 that the ACES corporation has promised is a good deal for the City of Carmel.
This confirmatory resolution will go back to finance committee.
Ordinance D-27-47-24: Establishes Lake City Bank as the Financial Institution of the City of Carmel depository of public monies
After a competitive bidding process, Lake City Bank was selected due to their elimination of fees as part of their proposal, competitive interest rates estimated to bring in approximately $400K more in interest than our current scheme, and their excellent customer service.
Resolution CC-11-18-24-01: Approving a Transfer of Funds within the General Administration Department Budget (Fund #1205)
Transfer of $182,000 within the General Admin Budget
Resolution CC-11-18-24-03: This resolution authorizes and appeal to the Department of Local Government Finance for permission to increase the City's 2025 ad valorum property tax levy in excess of the normal maximum allowable amount
NOTE: The state allows us annually to appeal to address any inaccurate assessments and make up any dollars. This is not an increase in property taxes.
Resolution CC-11-18-24-04: Approving a Transfer of Funds within the 2024 Common Council Budget.
Transfer of $109,400 within the 2024 Common Council due to excess funds. There will be an opportunity to use these funds for other obligations to be discussed in the future.
Resolution CC-11-18-24-05: Authorizes a joint committee of the executive and legislative branches to evaluate the purpose, governance and tax structure and related fiscal and risk aspects of all nonprofit corporations and community development corporations that are affiliates of the City of Carmel.*
*A Note on the Christkindlmarkt:
The above resolution established a committee that includes three city council members, with the chair being a member of city council, and the mayor. The committee will come into effect in February. Though it is the role of city council to be fiscally responsible, I have full faith that our new system of management will maintain the spirit of the Christkindlmarkt and improve it for the future. The Christkindlmarkt remains one of my absolute favorites of Carmel's annual events and something my family and I look forward to attending every year. I believe that the unique traditions, celebrations of our community's German diaspora, arts, food, and programming are critical to the overall culture of our city and will fight to ensure it maintains excellence.
This committee will be evaluating other city affiliated nonprofits in addition to the market. I believe, through this development, that we will continue to work towards increasing transparency of both the executive branch and the functioning of the city as a whole to provide accountability to our taxpayers.
West Side Concerns
We are continuing to have discussions regarding future development, affordable housing, as well as the need to preserve green space in Carmel. The Land Use Committee meeting focused on the interlocal agreement between the township and the city that has allowed Carmel Clay Parks to be the exceptional department that it is. We recognize that we need to work with the township and our state legislature to try and find some common sense solutions to help us provide long term funding to our parks system. We need to extend this interlocal agreement for two years to allow for the parks system to work toward this goal.
I encourage all of you to come out and celebrate the holidays at the Christkindlmarkt starting on Saturday! As always if you have any questions, concerns, or comments, please reach out to me. I’m always here to listen and advocate for you. If you wish to review the details of our city meeting, the recording is available here, and the meeting agenda is available here! If you’d like to attend a city council meeting, committee hearing, or other council events, please visit our website for the calendar!
Comentarios