City government · Hamilton County, IN

Carmel's money: where it comes from and where it goes

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended December 31, 2023), Carmel took in $274 million and spent $248 million.

Latest recorded year: ended December 31, 2023Comes fromGoes to

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Where it comes from

Fees for services (water, sewer)39%State tax money31%City taxes24%Fines and other5.1%County and local tax money1.0%

What stands out

31%

of Carmel's money comes from state tax money.A typical U.S. city of 50,000+ people gets 6.4%.

City taxes24%

Property tax
22%$60.0 million
Other taxes
2.4%$6.7 million
What's in other taxesOther selective sales taxes and other licenses
  • Other selective sales taxes$3.6 million
  • Other licenses$3.1 million

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services39%

Fees for services
39%$106 million
What's in fees for servicesWater; sewer and 2 more
  • Water$56.3 million
  • Sewer$31.6 million
  • Parks and recreation$13.7 million
  • Other service charges$4.0 million

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

State tax money31%

Money the state passes on, paid for by the state taxes residents also pay.

From the state
31%$85.2 million

County and local tax money1.0%

Money passed on by the county or other local governments.

From the county and other local governments
1.0%$2.7 million

Fines and other5.1%

Interest, rents and other
3.1%$8.5 million
Fines
2.0%$5.4 million

Where it goes

Police, fire, courts and jails27%Interest on debt23%Running the government and other costs17%Water, sewer, trash and utilities12%Roads, transit and parking9.3%All other spending11%

What stands out

23%

of Carmel's spending goes to interest on debt.A typical U.S. city of 50,000+ people spends 2.5%.

Spending by category100%

Police, fire, courts and jails
27%$67.9 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsFire protection; police and 2 more
  • Fire protection$34.4 million
  • Police$32.7 million
  • Courts and legal services$841 thousand
  • Probation, parole and other corrections$32 thousand
Interest on debt
23%$57.0 million
Running the government and other costs
17%$42.1 million
What's in running the government and other costsOther and not broken out; central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology) and 2 more
  • Other and not broken out$25.9 million
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$10.7 million
  • Government buildings$3.8 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$1.8 million
Water, sewer, trash and utilities
12%$30.0 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesWater supply and sewer systems
  • Water supply$15.2 million
  • Sewer systems$14.8 million
Roads, transit and parking
9.3%$23.1 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways
  • Roads and highways$23.1 million
Parks, recreation and libraries
8.1%$20.2 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation
  • Parks and recreation$20.2 million
Housing and community development
2.6%$6.5 million
Health and hospitals
0.4%$1.0 million
What's in health and hospitalsPublic health
  • Public health$1.0 million
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

City of Carmel. U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, individual unit file, fiscal year ended December 31, 2023.

What this covers. The money of City of Carmel itself. Other governments that serve the same area (the city, county, school district and state) are separate and not included. Borrowing, transfers between a government's own funds, and pension trust funds are not counted as revenue.