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Carmel CFO outlines zero‑based budget priorities, police and fire pay plan, and state tax uncertainty
Summary
Carmel's chief financial officer described a zero‑based budgeting approach, a multi‑year pay matrix for public safety that will cost about $5 million in the first year, reserve targets, and state-level tax bills that could shift revenue sources.
Carmel’s chief financial officer, Zach Jackson, told the Small Business Network that the city moved to a zero‑based budgeting process for the mayor’s first full budget and that the fiscal 2025 priorities include public safety and infrastructure spending while preserving reserves.
Jackson said the city asked departments to justify programs from the ground up rather than relying on incremental increases. “With 0 based budgeting, this really gave us an opportunity to just start from scratch,” he said, adding departments were asked to group expenses into programs and link them to mayoral priorities.
The budget includes a new wage matrix for sworn police and fire employees that Jackson said will cost roughly $5,000,000 in the first year as the city phases in…
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