Sue Finkam

Mayor Sue Finkam is advancing a new era for the City of Carmel -- widely recognized for its distinct amenities, robust business environment, excellent schools, and exceptional quality of life.
A proven and nationally recognized leader, Mayor Finkam’s ambitious Elevate Carmel plan is enhancing public safety efforts, financial transparency and stewardship, and the city’s model infrastructure. Through strategic partnerships with local businesses, educational institutions, and civic organizations, Mayor Finkam is similarly focused on supporting the local economy, creating job opportunities, and attracting new talent to the region.

Under her leadership, the City of Carmel is undergoing a visible shift in putting people at the center of projects and initiatives -- engaging the community in new ways. Early successes in her first year in office include:

An emphasis on public safety that included expanding the number of police officers and firefighters serving our residents and businesses and launching the Drone as First Responders program
The formation of commissions dedicated to enhancing housing options, as well as opportunities for seniors, veterans and young professionals.
Expanding support to the arts by issuing 23 grants and brought together more than 4,400 attendees for a festival of lights – our city’s first Diwali celebration.

Initiated efforts to better control financial forecasting and modeling, introducing a financial transparency portal, establishing the city’s first zero-based budget, and enlisting a new banking representative, and hiring new advisors for city employee benefits and retirement planning.
Release of the report from the Carmel Housing Task Force, a team of local leaders, experts and Carmel citizens formed by Mayor Finkam to study the state of housing in the city.
Early work toward reimagining the ample and premier space along the Meridian Corridor will be a key focus for the City of Carmel in the year ahead.
Key designations for the city, including being named the best place to live in the nation by Livability.

More on Mayor Finkam
A long-time resident of Carmel, Mayor Finkam has a deep-rooted connection to the community and a keen understanding of its unique needs and aspirations, having served 10 years on the Carmel City Council in various leadership roles and launching her own full-service marketing agency, FireStarter, LLC, in the city. As a direct extension of this experience, Mayor Finkam is focusing her leadership on enhancing quality of place, increasing community engagement, and ensuring excellent city services for all residents and businesses.

After earning an undergraduate degree at Central Michigan University and a master’s degree at Indiana Wesleyan, Mayor Finkam settled in Carmel with her husband, Joe, and raised their son, Drew, where she co-founded LetsTalkCarmel.com, a City of Carmel community transparency portal, and Carmel PorchFest, a music festival held on front porches north of Main Street. She has been named as an Enterprising Women of the Year Award Honoree and a Woman of Influence by Indianapolis Business Journal. She was also awarded the 2023 Universal Women’s Network, Vision Builder Award.