Hendricks County Council, District 1

What this office does

The county council is the county's fiscal body: it sets the county property tax rate, appropriates the money the county spends and fixes the pay and number of county employees ^{[1, 2, 3]}. Most councils have seven members, four elected from districts and three elected countywide (at large), though some larger counties elect all members by district ^{[1, 4]}. The board of commissioners runs county government day to day, while the council controls the money ^{[5, 6]}. Marion County has no separate county council; the 25-member Indianapolis City-County Council serves as the legislative body for the consolidated city-county government ^{[7, 8]}.

The job in full — the duties the Indiana Code puts in it, the term, what it pays and who sets that, and what to ask a candidate.

Term

4 years, starting January 1 after the election; district seats and at-large seats are filled at alternating general elections ^[9]

Elected

On the partisan general-election ballot; in most counties four members are elected by district voters and three at large by the whole county, while counties of 400,000–700,000 residents elect seven members by district and opt-in counties of 185,000–300,000 elect nine by district ^{[4, 1]}. Every county council race on the 2026 state candidate list is a district seat ^[10]

At-large races

All three at-large seats are filled at the same election, so voters may choose up to three candidates and the top three vote-getters win; straight-ticket votes do not count in these multi-seat races ^{[4, 11]}

Term limit

None stated; the statute that sets the four-year term does not limit how many terms a member may serve ^[9]

Qualifications

Must have lived in the county at least one year, and in the district (for a district seat) at least six months, before the election, and be registered to vote in the election district; a county employee who is elected must leave that county job on taking office ^{[12, 13]}

Pay

Set locally in the council's annual ordinance fixing the compensation of county officers and employees ^{[3, 14]}

On the 2026 ballot

368 races; 147 contested ^[10]

Hendricks County's numbers for this office

Legal Insights county office research (Oct. 13, 2026): Indiana Gateway budgets 2019-2026 and the indicator sources linked on each line.

Also on the record for this office

• SEA 1 estimated county-unit revenue change in 2028 vs prior law: $-6,517,480 (LSA)
• MUST taskforce (LIT distribution talks): convened
• wheel tax: none found
• fiscal consultant named in records: FSG

Measured, for this county

A position compares this county with counties of similar size. It is not a grade: for most measures a higher or lower number is neither good nor bad on its own.

About this race

• Hendricks County's seven-member council is the county's fiscal body: it appropriates all funds and levies all county taxes. Four members are elected from districts (one per district) and three at large; the council meets on the third Tuesday of each month ^[22].
• Budget and taxes: at the August 2026 budget hearings, the county's financial adviser said the goal was to hold the county property tax rate at $0.2682, that the county lost $1 million in circuit-breaker revenue in one year because of the new homestead credit, and that the goal is to pay off the jail bond in early 2028 ^[31]. In June 2026 the auditor reported $38.5 million in countywide circuit-breaker and credit losses for pay-2026 ^[29].
• Local income tax: in January 2026 the adviser told the council the county's maximum local income tax (LIT) rate was likely to fall from 1.20% to 0.70% after the 2026 legislative session, giving cities and towns a larger share; in 2026 the council designated a member for the multi-unit (MUST) LIT planning group with the towns ^{[23, 30]}.
• Capital projects: at a June 16, 2026 joint meeting, officials ranked a new judicial center and a fairgrounds expansion as top capital priorities; the adviser estimated a $90 million judicial center would need a LIT rate of about 0.1008 or a property tax rate of about 0.0434, and the council agreed to seek legislative help to use jail LIT for a judicial center ^[32]. The council has moved forward with lease-rental bonds for a roughly $19 million fairgrounds project ^{[28, 30]}.
• Economic development: the council reviews tax-abatement compliance each year and approved 25 compliant abatements in June 2026; in May-July 2026 it designated an economic revitalization area with a real-property abatement for I-70 West LLC ^{[29, 28, 30]}.
• Pay and staffing: in 2025-2026 the council rewrote its pay policy, separating annual cost-of-living increases from evaluation-based bonus pay; it granted a 3% cost-of-living increase for 2027 on a 4-3 vote in August 2026 ^{[24, 31]}.
• District 1 is one of four single-member council districts; the incumbent, Republican David Cox, faces Democrat Cindy Simmons ^{[22, 10]}.
• No 2026 primary results, candidate forums or debates for this race were found in sources that could be reviewed.

Candidates on the ballot

Key points

• Hendricks County's seven-member council is the county's fiscal body: it appropriates all funds and levies all county taxes. Four members are elected from districts (one per district) and three at large; the council meets on the third Tuesday of each month. (Hendricks County, Indiana)
• Hendricks County government adopted a $154.6 million budget for 2026, about $799 per resident; that is +43.0% compared with 2023. (Indiana Gateway for Government Units)
• Legislative Services Agency estimate: the 2025 property tax law (SEA 1) changes the county government's net property tax levy by -12.6% versus prior law once fully in effect (2028, since delayed to 2029 by HEA 1210). (Indiana Legislative Services Agency)

Sources