Carmel vs Fishers 2014 budgets

While Fishers and Carmel have similar populations the comparison widens from there. Their 2014 budgets are quit different. Fishers recently approved next years budget of $81M and Carmel’s is $127M. The difference has some asking what the difference is.

1. Carmel owns its' water company and it is included in the budget where as Fishers gets water from Indianapolis. In recent years Carmel has converted all of Clay Township to city owned water. Its’ infrastructure and processing capacity have been expanded to handle future peak demands. This was evident in the drought of 2012 when Carmel only asked it costumers to conserve as other communities were on strict restrictions. Carmel was actually selling water to surrounding communities.

2. Carmel is paying to build and maintain infrastructure for 43 corporation headquarters and other major commercial taxpayers. It costs more but these taxpayers have been the reason the city’s taxes have been so low. Carmel is now 2nd in the state of Indiana for office space and has 10 times the amount of Class A office spaces as Fishers. Carmel collects up to $12 million more in County Option Income tax as Fishers.

3. Carmel spends almost most $10 million more on fire protection. The city has 4 fire fighters per truck where many communities have only 2-3. For every fire fighter who enters a burning building 2 must remain behind. This extra manpower and spending translates into lower insurance rates. This results in Carmel scoring higher when corporations look to relocate.

4. As many communities only list the general fund in their budget Carmel lists capitals projects that other cities may not. When comparing Carmel’s budget it is evident the city is ahead of surrounding communities in upgrading local roads and ease of travel. Carmel has a number of capital projects planned for next year that will continue to add value to relocating companies and existing residents.

In 2012 Carmel was 156th out of 565 cities and towns on per capita spending. Given inflation Carmel’s taxes are that of 1996. The city’s vision has been to transform the city from a suburb to an edge city that is sustainable and competitive in the new world economy. Being named number #1 by Money Magazine in 2012 for cities under 250,000 is a good indicator the vision is working.