Council hires outside law firm to investigate Christkindl Market matters; scope broadened to include legislative interviews

The Carmel Common Council on July 7 voted to engage Dentons Bingham Greenbaum LLP to perform an independent legal review related to events surrounding the Christkindl Market and associated matters. The council also approved an amendment to permit the firm to consider interviews or review involving the legislative branch if relevant.

Councilor Locke, who led the engagement effort, presented an engagement letter that sets an initial not-to-exceed budget of $125,000 and asked for council authorization to begin work so the firm could draft a focused scope and begin privileged attorney-client work with council leadership. Locke said the firm was chosen because it had the investigative capacity and fewer local conflicts than other firms.

Several councilors sought tighter scope controls and cost oversight. Councilor Green urged full transparency and insisted the review not selectively target only the executive branch; Councilor Schneider warned about the risk of omitting material evidence if the scope were narrowed prematurely. Councilor Taylor and others asked staff to confirm how any outside review would interact with ongoing litigation and to plan for a possible appropriation to cover the outside legal cost if the council’s budget cannot absorb the expenditure.

Councilor Green moved—and the council adopted by voice vote—an amendment to the engagement directing the firm to consider including legislative-branch interviews in its review. Locke and others said they would work with the firm to narrow the written scope and to bring substantive scope or budget changes back to the council if more funds were needed beyond the $125,000 ceiling.

The measure passed on a unanimous voice vote and the council directed the committee overseeing the review to manage cost and scope and to return to the full council if spending approaches the budget ceiling.