2026 General Election · Tuesday, November 3, 2026

Johnson County Council, District 1

Voted on across Johnson County, in district 1. Open seat: Pamela J. Burton is not on the ballot.

Find your exact ballot All Johnson County races

Who votes on this seat: Only voters who live in District 1 vote in this race. 2026 General Election Candidate List

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]

What the law puts in this job (13)

Serves as the county fiscal body under the name of the county council ^[1].
Sets the county property tax rate and other countywide rates not fixed by state law ^[2].
Appropriates county money; except as otherwise provided by law, money may leave the county treasury only under an appropriation the council makes ^[2].
Adopts the annual budget at a yearly meeting where the county auditor presents budget estimates; budget ordinances must be read on two separate days, and funding an item above the estimates takes a three-fourths vote ^[14].
Adopts a separate salary ordinance setting the pay of county officers and employees and the number of deputies and employees in each office, after considering the commissioners' recommendations ^{[14, 3]}.
Sets pay schedules and job classifications paid from the county general, highway, park and other funds, except that each local health department board sets pay for its own staff ^[3].
Controls spending and revenue collection in the county, including special spending requests during the year ^[6].
Authorizes by ordinance the bonds that fund county road and bridge projects and can create a county housing authority by resolution ^[8].
Serves as the county legislative body as well as the fiscal body in Lake and St. Joseph counties ^[8].
Declares a commissioner's seat vacant when the commissioner moves out of the county or district, and in certain cases can remove a county commissioner from office ^{[15, 13]}.
Becomes the body that adopts county local income tax rates under the 2025 SEA 1 overhaul, replacing local income tax councils; the change is now scheduled for ordinances adopted starting July 1, 2028 ^{[16, 17]}.
Has its adopted budget, tax rate and levies reviewed by the state Department of Local Government Finance, whose county budget order certifies the approved budget, tax rate and levy for each fund ^[18].
Does not run county departments day to day; the commissioners provide administrative oversight and the council provides fiduciary oversight ^[5].

Johnson 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.

This office's 2026 budget

$1,179,302

1.1% of the county's adopted 2026 budget · 1696% more than 2019, before inflation

2019 $65,6482026 $1,179,302

The year-by-year figures

Adopted budget, all funds, 2019-2026 (not adjusted for inflation)

2019: $65,648
2020: $68,798
2021: $356,410
2022: $81,195
2023: $113,781
2024: $206,061
2025: $204,018
2026: $1,179,302

Budget lines counted: 0061 COUNTY COUNCIL

Adopted 2026 county budget (Form 1 line items, Form 4B) and earlier years' budgets

All members combined, 2026 budget lines (presidents are often paid more)

$157,227

From the county budget; verify against the county's 2026 salary ordinance. A line can include longevity pay or a second role.

Also on the record for this office

SEA 1 estimated county-unit revenue change in 2028 vs prior law: $-2,547,980 (LSA)
MUST taskforce (LIT distribution talks): discussed
wheel tax: none found
fiscal consultant named in records: Peters Franklin

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.

General Fund cash, in days of spending · 2025

482 days

End-of-2025 General Fund cash divided by a year's disbursements, times 365.

How much this is the officeholder's to decide: high (council and commissioners jointly): spending and appropriation decisions

Position 1 of 10 counties with 150,000 or more residents that have this figure (1 = highest value)

source · source

Share of the 2025 General Fund budget spent · 2025

79.4%

Actual General Fund spending divided by the certified budget.

How much this is the officeholder's to decide: high (council appropriates; commissioners and officers spend)

Position 11 of 11 counties with 150,000 or more residents that have this figure (1 = highest value)

source · source

County debt per resident · 2025

$202

Debt outstanding at the end of 2025 (annual financial report).

How much this is the officeholder's to decide: high (council authorizes borrowing; commissioners initiate many projects)

Position 7 of 11 counties with 150,000 or more residents that have this figure (1 = highest value)

source · source

Budget growth, 2023 to 2026 · 2023-2026

+12.6%

Adopted budget, all funds, not adjusted for inflation.

How much this is the officeholder's to decide: high (council adopts the budget)

Position 8 of 10 counties with 150,000 or more residents that have this figure (1 = highest value)

source · source

SEA 1 estimate for 2028 · 2028 (LSA estimate)

-6.7%

Legislative Services Agency estimate of the county government's revenue change under the 2025 property tax law, compared with prior law.

How much this is the officeholder's to decide: low: set by state law (SEA 1-2025); local rate choices from 2028 change the outcome

Position 1 of 10 counties with 150,000 or more residents that have this figure (1 = highest value)

source

Property tax cap credits · 2026

10.4%

Tax-cap (circuit breaker) credits as a share of the 2026 levy: revenue the county does not collect because of the caps.

How much this is the officeholder's to decide: low: set mainly by the constitutional caps and the combined rates of all units in the county

Position 4 of 11 counties with 150,000 or more residents that have this figure (1 = highest value)

source · source

Local income tax share of county revenue · 2026

49.5%

How much of the county's revenue comes from local income tax.

How much this is the officeholder's to decide: partial: the council adopts local income tax rates within limits set by state law

Position 2 of 10 counties with 150,000 or more residents that have this figure (1 = highest value)

source · source

Meeting minutes online · 2026-10

Posted as text

Whether the council's or commissioners' minutes are posted online (the better of the two), checked Oct. 2026.

How much this is the officeholder's to decide: high (commissioners and council decide what they post)

About this race

Open seat: incumbent Pam Burton did not file for District 1 in 2026; Republican Sheriff Duane E. Burgess was the only primary filer for the seat ^{[24, 34]}. The Ballot Brief reports Burton is retiring ^[25].
May 5, 2026 primary: Burgess was unopposed for the Republican nomination with 3,448 votes; no Democrat filed for District 1 ^[34].
Democrat Jay Mateti appears on the county's general-election candidate list with a filing date of June 30, 2026, after the primary ^{[35, 10]}. How he was placed on the ballot (for example, by a party filling a ballot vacancy) could not be confirmed.
The Johnson County Council has seven members: four elected from districts and three at-large, each serving four-year terms. The county describes it as responsible for setting salaries, the annual budget and special spending, with limited authority to impose local taxes such as income, food-and-beverage or innkeeper's taxes ^[23].
State property-tax changes (SEA 1 of 2025) dominate the council's fiscal planning. At a May 20, 2026 joint meeting, the county's financial advisor projected a 5% drop in net assessed value for 2027 as the supplemental homestead deduction rises from 40% in 2026 to 66.7% by 2031, said local income tax (LIT) restructuring decisions are now due before Oct. 1, 2028 for 2029, described the new Municipal Unit Strategic Taskforce (MUST), and modeled a roughly 9% county tax-rate increase for 2027 ^[32]. In June 2025 he told the council the county currently levies a 1.0% LIT expenditure rate, a 0.2% jail rate and a 0.2% EDIT rate ^[26].
For the 2027 budget the council in July 2026 adopted guidelines that include a hiring freeze for new positions (except statutory requirements), a 'hiring pause' on refilling vacancies without council review, a $1,500 cost-of-living adjustment and salary ranges based on the 2025 WIS job-classification study; it also adopted a pay philosophy and dropped longevity pay for 2027 ^[33]. Adoption of the 2027 budgets, the 2027 salary ordinance and a $7,835,000 general obligation bond for vehicles, equipment and improvements were on the Oct. 12, 2026 agenda ^[36].
The council also acts as the approving body for bonds and additional appropriations of appointed fire protection districts; in 2026 it approved Nineveh Fire Protection District financing for a new station, and in May 2026 it tabled Bargersville and White River fire district requests pending more information ^{[30, 31]}.
On Feb. 23, 2026 the Board of Commissioners' consent agenda included Ordinance 2026-O-2, amending the 2022 ordinance that established the county council districts ^[37]. The effect on district boundaries was not reviewed for this profile.
Public safety and jail: in October 2025 the chief deputy sheriff told the council the jail population was 380 and asked for additional appropriations as costs rose ^[27]. In July 2026 Burgess asked the council how its hiring pause would affect jail staffing, and the guidelines were clarified before passage ^[33].
No candidate forums or debates for this race were found in sources reviewed.

Candidates on the ballot

Duane E. Burgess

Republican

Republican Duane Burgess has been Johnson County sheriff since January 2019 and was unopposed in the May 2026 Republican primary for District 1 ^{[38, 22, 34]}.

Burgess's background

Johnson County sheriff since January 2019; elected in 2018 with 37,002 votes and re-elected in 2022 with 35,117 ^{[38, 39, 22]}.
A 2019 Towne Post profile described a roughly 30-year career that began as a volunteer firefighter with the White River Fire Department and a sheriff's dispatcher, followed by work as a corrections officer, Johnson County courthouse security officer and Southport police chief. It said he graduated from the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy in 1992 and the FBI National Academy in 2016 ^[38].
As sheriff he has appeared before the council on department budgets; in December 2025 he told the council his salary is set at 90% of the prosecutor's salary and was unchanged from the prior year ^[40].
The Ballot Brief also identifies him as the current sheriff ^[25]. Republican Andrew M. Fisher is the only candidate on the 2026 ballot for sheriff ^[35].

Burgess's positions

Public safety & jail

At the July 13, 2026 council meeting, before the vote on 2027 budget guidelines, he asked how the proposed hiring pause would affect public safety; the minutes record that 'he has a jail to run and can't wait to rehire personnel.' The council added clarifying language on statutory exceptions before approving the guidelines ^[33].
In a 2019 interview about his first year as sheriff he said, 'Right now my big focus is the jail,' and described plans for a jail expansion, training, equipment upgrades and school safety ^[38].

Budget & taxes

In 2019 he cited finding funds within his existing budget rather than requesting additional money from the county council as a way of saving taxpayer money ^[38].

Burgess on the current officeholder

Open seat. No statements by Burgess about Burton's record or the council's direction were found, apart from his July 2026 question about the hiring pause ^[33].

How Burgess got on the ballot

Filed Jan. 7, 2026, and was unopposed in the May 5, 2026 Republican primary with 3,448 votes ^{[24, 34]}.

What we could not find about Burgess

No campaign website, questionnaire responses or council-race interviews were found.
Daily Journal coverage of the race could not be reviewed for this profile.
Campaign-finance filings with the county election office were not reviewed.
His stated positions on taxes, SEA 1 and local income tax decisions as a council member were not found.
No campaign platform for the council race was found in sources reviewed ^[25].
No endorsements or campaign-finance reports were found in sources reviewed ^[25].

Sources for Burgess

Johnson County Sheriff Duane Burgess Reflects On First Year In Office (Towne Post Network)

Jay Mateti

Democratic

Democrat Jay Mateti was added to the general-election ballot after the primary, with a filing date of June 30, 2026. The Ballot Brief describes him as an entrepreneur ^{[35, 25]}.

Mateti's background

The Ballot Brief describes him as an entrepreneur ^[25]. No other background information was found.

Mateti on the current officeholder

Open seat. No statements by Mateti about the council's direction were found.

How Mateti got on the ballot

No Democrat filed for District 1 in the May 5, 2026 primary ^[34]. Mateti is listed on the county's general-election candidate list with a filing date of June 30, 2026 ^{[35, 10]}.

What we could not find about Mateti

Coverage is very thin: no campaign website, social-media page, questionnaire or news interview was found.
How he was placed on the ballot after the primary could not be confirmed.
His occupation, residence and community background could not be confirmed beyond The Ballot Brief's one-word description.
Daily Journal coverage of the race could not be reviewed for this profile.
No public comments by him were found in 2025-2026 council minutes reviewed.
No campaign platform was found in sources reviewed ^[25].
No endorsements or campaign-finance reports were found in sources reviewed.

Sources for Mateti

Candidate List - Abbreviated, 2026 General Election (Johnson County Election Board)

Key points

State property-tax changes (SEA 1 of 2025) dominate the council's fiscal planning. (Johnson County Council)
Johnson County government adopted a $104.3 million budget for 2026, about $599 per resident; that is +12.6% 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 -6.7% versus prior law once fully in effect (2028, since delayed to 2029 by HEA 1210). (Indiana Legislative Services Agency)

Sources

Researched Sunday, October 11, 2026

Indiana Code 36-2-3-2: County council as fiscal body; size (FindLaw (Indiana Code, current as of 2026-01-01))
Indiana Code 36-2-5-2: Tax rates and appropriations (FindLaw (Indiana Code, current as of 2026-01-01))
Indiana Code 36-2-5-3: Compensation of officers and employees (FindLaw (Indiana Code, current as of 2026-01-01))
Indiana Code 36-2-3-4: Council districts and at-large members (FindLaw (Indiana Code, current as of 2026-01-01))
Commissioners Responsibilities (Boone County, Indiana)
About the County Council (Hancock County, Indiana)
Indiana Code 36-2-3-1: Application of chapter (FindLaw (Indiana Code, current as of 2026-01-01))
County Government Overview: Indiana (National Association of Counties (NACo))
Indiana Code 36-2-3-3: Election and term of fiscal body (FindLaw (Indiana Code, current as of 2026-01-01))
2026 General Election Candidate List (Indiana Election Division)
Monroe County voters put three incumbent Democrats back on county council (The B Square Bulletin (Dave Askins))
Indiana Code 3-8-1-22: Candidates for county council (FindLaw (Indiana Code, current as of 2026-01-01))
2026 Indiana Candidate Guide (Indiana Election Division)
Indiana Code 36-2-5-11: Annual budget, tax rate and salary ordinances (FindLaw (Indiana Code, current as of 2026-01-01))
Indiana Code 36-2-2-5: Qualifications and residency of members; district or countywide election (FindLaw (Indiana Code, current as of 2026-01-01))
Major Changes to Expenditure Rate of LIT in SEA 1 (2025) (Barnes & Thornburg LLP)
Legislation Affecting Local Income Taxes (memorandum on HEA 1210-2026) (Indiana Department of Local Government Finance)
County Specific Information (Indiana Department of Local Government Finance)
Historical Election Results: 2022 Primary and General Elections (Indiana Election Division (indianavoters.in.gov))
County Council (Johnson County, Indiana)
Candidate List - Abbreviated, 2026 Primary Election (Johnson County Election Board)
Johnson County Council, District 1 (The Ballot Brief)
County Council Special Joint Meeting with Commissioners minutes, June 25, 2025 (Johnson County Council)
County Council Regular Meeting minutes, Oct. 13, 2025 (Johnson County Council)
County Council Regular Meeting minutes, March 9, 2026 (Johnson County Council)
County Council Regular Meeting minutes, May 11, 2026 (Johnson County Council)
County Council Special Joint Meeting with Commissioners minutes, May 20, 2026 (Johnson County Council)
County Council Regular Meeting minutes, July 13, 2026 (Johnson County Council)
Election Summary Report, 2026 Primary Election (Johnson County Election Board)
Candidate List - Abbreviated, 2026 General Election (Johnson County Election Board)
County Council Notice & Agenda, Oct. 12, 2026 (Johnson County Council)
Board of Commissioners Notice & Agenda, Feb. 23, 2026 (Johnson County Board of Commissioners)
Johnson County Sheriff Duane Burgess Reflects On First Year In Office (Towne Post Network)
Historical Election Results: 2018 Primary and General Elections (Indiana Election Division (indianavoters.in.gov))
County Council Regular Meeting minutes, Dec. 8, 2025 (Johnson County Council)

What's included: the U.S. House, statewide offices, every Indiana House and Senate district on the ballot, Indiana's statewide public questions and judicial retention questions, and county, township, city, town and school board races from the Indiana Election Division's candidate list.
Everything else: Local races (county, city, school board, judges) and anything else on your ballot are on your official sample ballot: IndianaVoters.in.gov.
Candidate lists: As of Sunday, October 18, 2026.
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