Carmel names woman fired earlier this year as city’s first controller

A Carmel employee who was fired earlier this year—then re-hired two weeks later—will now serve in a position that replaces the one held by her former boss.

Ann Bingman, director of internal controls for the Carmel Clerk-Treasurer’s Office, will become the city’s controller starting Jan. 1. Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard announced the appointment Monday.

In the written announcement, Brainard said Bingman had worked for the city since February 2016, but he made no mention of the short gap in her employment history.

Bingman had been director of internal controls for three years before she was fired by Clerk-Treasurer Christine Pauley on April 17. At the time, she was the city’s only certified public accountant.

Bingman claimed she was fired by Pauley for political reasons after she shared a document related to an IRS tax audit on a conduit debt obligation with Mayor Jim Brainard. Pauley called her the mayor’s snitch, Bingman said at the time.

Pauley declined to tell the IBJ why she fired Bingman, saying personnel matters are confidential.

A few days after Carmel’s city council investigated the matter, Pauley issued an apology letter to offer Bingman her job back. In the letter, Pauley said Bingman was not terminated “…due to fraud, misappropriation of funds nor poor performance.”

Bingman returned to her position, but instead of reporting to Pauley, she reported directly to the deputy clerk.

State law eliminates the elected clerk-treasure’s position whenever a municipality becomes a second-class city and replaces it with an elected clerk and a mayor-appointed controller. Amid claims of a “toxic environment” and Carmel’s upcoming designation as a second-class city, Pauley said she would not run to become the city’s clerk.

Bingman declined to comment Monday, saying she was instructed to refer everything to Carmel’s Community Relations and Economic Development Department. A call to that department was not returned by the IBJ’s deadline.

In her new role, Bingman will oversee the seven-person department responsible for managing and maintaining all city financial records in compliance with the requirements set forth by municipal, state and federal law.

Bingman also will serve as the executive director of Carmel’s Local Public Improvement Bond Bank, which is responsible for the financial activity and reporting of the Bond Bank.