‘Very rookie’: Former Carmel councilman blasts Mayor’s handling of Christkindlmarkt

CARMEL, Ind. — The wildly popular Carmel Christkindlmarkt has been the subject of controversy for months now after a shakeup on the board that runs the market and now a lawsuit filed against the City and Mayor Sue Finkam by a former member of the board as well as the resignation of the market’s longtime CEO.

It began in October 2024, when Mayor Finkam announced that City of Carmel was forming an advisory board to evaluate the City’s relationships with nonprofit organizations like Carmel Christkindlmarkt Inc. (CCI).

The market is run by a nonprofit but does get resources from the City. Finkam said she wanted recoup some of the costs associated with the market.

According to the lawsuit filed by former CCI board chair Sue McDermott, Finkam wanted to establish an operating agreement between the City and the nonprofit with a provision that said the City owns the market and its assets.

The nonprofits board was hesitant, so Finkam gutted the board and made her own appointments to replace them. The same day, the board called a special meeting and approved that new operating agreement, according to the lawsuit.

“The approach by the administration through this whole ordeal has been, from my point of view, only be able to be characterized as very rookie,” said former Carmel councilman Ron Carter.

Tensions ran high after Finkam reshaped the CCI board. The market’s president and CEO, Maria Rosenfeld, resigned on Tuesday.

Several sources told FOX59/CBS4 that Rosenfeld’s resignation was due, in part, to her refusal to sign a non-compete agreement.

Carter, who served on the city council for more than two decades, said Finkam’s hostile takeover of the market has done a lot of harm.

“It’s done great damage to not only the reputation of the Christkindlmarkt but more of greater concern is the damage that it’s done to the reputation of the City of Carmel,” Carter said. “I think she is trying to change the brand of the community and yet no change is really necessary.”

His biggest concern is that the ramifications of Rosenfeld’s departure could be worse than just reputational. Especially with nearby cities champing at the bit to get an event as successful as Christkindlmarkt has been.

In 2024 alone, more than 10,000 people visited Carmel Christkindlmarkt daily. The event generated $9.6 million in sales and created $24.3 million in economic impact for Hamilton County.

“It’s going to be hard to replace that skill set,” Carter said. “It’s also going to be a great concern to me if that skill set goes to another community that we compete with especially in this area.”

Carter said the way Finkam went about making these changes has lacked transparency, and he believes it’s time that she’s held accountable for what has transpired.

“The honeymoon should be over,” Carter said. “It’s been a year, in fact a year and a half almost, that Sue has been in office. It’s time for the citizens of Carmel to start asking questions about why she’s doing things and why she’s doing things in the way she is.”

FOX59/CBS4 reached out to Rosenfeld, who said she had no comment on her departure at this time.

“The goal of the Affiliate Review Committee is clear: deliver greater accountability and transparency, strengthen oversight, and ensure tax dollars are redirected to vital city services,” Finkam said in response to Carter’s comments. “We will continue working with the city council and community leaders to ensure all affiliated nonprofits operate with the highest standards.”