CARMEL -
A controversy is brewing in Hamilton County over how the City of Carmel is spending tax dollars.
The Center for Performing Arts, the Carmel City Center, and hundreds of new apartments and condominiums are all the product of a unique government agency, financed with tax dollars.
The money that fuels redevelopment comes from a tax called a "TIF." That money is then used to buy land for development.
"I think the Carmel situation maybe represents what can happen on the extreme edges of this," said State Senator Luke Kenley (R-Noblesville).
But there is an issue that state lawmakers are trying to straighten out.
"The lack of transparency and public disclosures of information are things that need to be improved," said Kenley.
Main Street in Carmel has been redeveloped. New sidewalks, a lot of new buildings with locally-owned businesses, but there has been some scrutinizing, like an $80,000 statue that was paid for, in part, with TIF money.
"It is a legal way to cleanse. It allows TIF money to be used in ways the statute does not contemplate," said Carmel City Council President Rick Sharp.
According to Sharp, the Carmel Redevelopment Commission has a $20 million budget, with little oversight on how the money is spent.
"Basically, they can use their money for bricks and sticks and acquiring land," said Sharp.
The money is not supposed to be used for operations. They have a very sizeable staff now.
After two days of asking for a response from the City of Carmel, Eyewitness News received a statement late Tuesday afternoon, stating Carmel has attracted close to $400 million in private investment.
"In short, the redevelopment dollars have been well invested and are producing the desired results for Carmel taxpayers," the statement read.
