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Finance director reports first‑quarter revenues above forecast; tornado response costs exceed $722,000 so far
Summary
Finance Director Zach Jackson presented a new quarterly budget‑variance report showing first‑quarter general fund revenues higher than forecast and spending below plan; Fire Chief Joel Thacker reported preliminary tornado response and recovery costs of about $722,000 forwarded for state and FEMA review.
Carmel’s finance office presented the city’s first quarterly budget‑variance report to the Common Council on April 21 and outlined changes to monthly reporting; staff said general fund revenue in the first quarter exceeded the forecast and overall spending remained below plan.
Zach Jackson, Finance Director, said the city’s first‑quarter general fund projection was $18.8 million while actual receipts were roughly $19.5 million — a positive variance driven in part by a reimbursement tied to a prior event and a Medicaid/EMS payment that arrived earlier than expected. Jackson cautioned that some recorded revenues and interest allocations are finalized later in the month when bank statements and allocations across funds are reconciled.
Jackson described changes to reporting frequency and detail, including a monthly investment report and a revised quarterly variance report to show month‑by‑month movement and vendor payments. He also said the finance team is introducing more granular chart‑of‑account codes to improve transparency for revenue and expense lines.
Nut graf: The council asked for additional line‑item detail and requested that staff include account designations and historical comparisons in future quarterly materials to help with budget planning; staff agreed to return with expanded spreadsheets and the transaction‑level data the council requested.
On emergency costs, Fire Chief Joel Thacker told councilors the city’s tally of departmental response and recovery expenses related to the recent tornado totaled over $722,000 as of the prior Wednesday; the figure has been submitted to Hamilton County Emergency Management and is being pursued through state disaster relief and FEMA processes. "Because we had our local disaster declaration and the county joined it, the governor included Hamilton County in the state disaster declaration," Thacker said, adding the city qualifies for the state disaster relief fund.
Ending: Jackson said general fund spending was about 11.8% under projection for the period presented and asked councilors for patience as the reporting format is refined; the finance office will return with more detailed, account‑level data in subsequent reports.
