Utility Rate

Utility bills include fees for those services that keep your household running. In Carmel, we have made tough policy and strategy decisions over the years that have resulted in more predictable and affordable utility fees for our residents. These choices include, but are not limited to:

  • Owning our own water utility. We have to have more debt to maintain this costly, highly-regulated service, but it means we have better water at a lower cost per gallon, and more water available for the large number of businesses and residences that sprinkle lawns each summer. 
  • Instituting a storm water utility. We chose to start a storm water utility a few years ago to invest in aging infrastructure and ensure our ability to convey and treat more storm sewer water is important as we add more roads, neighborhoods and businesses.
  • Implementing a municipal trash and recycling program. This program has resulted in standardized fees that are lower for the large majority of homeowners, the option to use weekly recycling and less trash truck traffic in neighborhoods. 

A monthly bill comparison of Carmel’s utility bills as compared to our neighbors, along with projected annual savings for Carmel residents:

Updated June of 2022