Interesting.My initial reaction to the new "assessment" was negative, but I am glad I live in a place that has the forethought to make the investments in infrastructure before they are a problem. This was especially highlighted during the drought a couple years ago when the surrounding communities were running out of water and we were fine because of well system we put in place.
From my perspective, the new tax is to pay for things we already built. We had the budget to maintain them when we built them. But then, we built new stuff that wasn't supported in the budget, so now we have to play a bit of a monetary shell game to get new revenue to maintain the stuff we should be able to budget for without it.
Likewise, the sewer issues that are now being used to show why we "need" the new tax have been around for years. Truly, almost since Carmel's founding. (Carmel sits on some of the lowest ground in the county - which makes things like the artesian well.) "Forethought" would have had those items budgeted and fixed much earlier.
Money is fungible. It is about priorities.