2026 General Election · Tuesday, November 3, 2026

Lake County Treasurer

Voted on across Lake County.

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What this office does

The county treasurer is an elected county officer created by the Indiana Constitution. The treasurer receives the money owed to the county, sends out and collects property tax bills, and pays out county money on warrants issued by the county auditor ^{[1, 2]}.

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 ^[1]
Term limit: No more than eight years in any twelve-year period (Indiana Constitution, Article 6, Section 2) ^[1]
Qualifications: Must have lived in the county for at least one year before the election, be registered to vote in the county by the filing deadline, and file a statement of economic interests ^[3]
Pay and staff: Set by the county council, which also fixes the number of deputies and employees; the officer files a budget estimate each summer ^{[4, 5]}
On the 2026 ballot: 15 counties; 4 contested (more candidates, including write-ins, than seats) ^[6]

What the law puts in this job (4)

Receives money to which the county is entitled and pays it out on warrants issued and attested by the auditor ^[2].
Bills and collects property taxes ^{[2, 7]}.
Reports to the auditor on the county's funds each month and settles with the auditor twice a year ^{[8, 9]}.
Invests county funds under guidelines set by the county commissioners and sits with the commissioners on the county board of finance ^{[10, 11]}.

Lake 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

$2,274,894

0.5% of the county's adopted 2026 budget · 1% more than 2019, before inflation

2019 $2,243,4762026 $2,274,894

The year-by-year figures

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

2019: $2,243,476
2020: $2,008,278
2021: $1,715,486
2022: $2,248,648
2023: $2,320,138
2024: $2,262,239
2025: $2,158,601
2026: $2,274,894

Budget lines counted: 0003 COUNTY TREASURER

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

Also on the record for this office

property tax billing software: Aumentum Technologies MVPTax 3.16.014 (source: Indiana Gateway pay-2026 property-tax data)

About this race

Treasurer John Petalas, a Democrat, is seeking another term ^{[12, 6]}.
Petalas won a contested Democratic primary in May 2026; Kevin Deane was unopposed for the Republican nomination ^[13].
No forum or debate between the candidates was found in free sources as of Oct. 13, 2026.

Candidates on the ballot

Kevin B Deane

Republican

Kevin B. Deane is the Republican nominee; he was unopposed in the May 5, 2026 Republican primary ^[13].

How Deane got on the ballot

Won the May 5, 2026 Republican primary unopposed, with 14,982 votes ^[13].

What we could not find about Deane

No campaign website, candidate questionnaire, news interview or biography was found in free sources as of Oct. 13, 2026.
No stated priorities for the office were found.
Coverage in The Times of Northwest Indiana is paywalled and was not used.

Sources for Deane

2026 Primary Election results (certified), Indiana Election Night Reporting (Indiana Election Division)

John E Petalas

DemocraticIncumbent

Democrat John Petalas is the current Lake County treasurer ^[12].

Petalas's background

Listed by the county as Lake County Treasurer ^[12].

How Petalas got on the ballot

Won the May 5, 2026 Democratic primary with 22,309 votes to 13,265 for Anthony J. Manuel ^[13].

What we could not find about Petalas

No campaign website or questionnaire stating his plans for another term was found as of Oct. 13, 2026.
Coverage in The Times of Northwest Indiana is paywalled and was not used.

Sources for Petalas

Treasurer (Lake County, Indiana)

Key points

Petalas won a contested Democratic primary in May 2026; Kevin Deane was unopposed for the Republican nomination. (Indiana Election Division)

Sources

Researched Tuesday, October 13, 2026

Constitution of the State of Indiana, Article 6, Section 2 (quoted in the 2026 Candidate Guide) (Indiana Election Division)
Indiana Code 36-2-10-9: Treasurer; receipt and disbursement of money (Indiana General Assembly (2026 Indiana Code))
2026 Indiana Candidate Guide (County Offices) (Indiana Election Division)
Indiana Code 36-2-5-3: County fiscal body; compensation and positions (Indiana General Assembly (2026 Indiana Code))
Indiana Code 36-2-5-5: Officers' budget estimates (Indiana General Assembly (2026 Indiana Code))
2026 General Election Candidate List (Indiana Election Division)
Understanding Your Tax Bill (Indiana Department of Local Government Finance)
Indiana Code 36-2-10-16: Treasurer; monthly report (Indiana General Assembly (2026 Indiana Code))
Indiana Code 6-1.1-27-1: Semiannual settlement of property taxes (Indiana General Assembly (2026 Indiana Code))
Indiana Code 5-13-9-1: Investment of public funds (Indiana General Assembly (2026 Indiana Code))
Indiana Code 5-13-7-1: County board of finance (Indiana General Assembly (2026 Indiana Code))
Treasurer (Lake County, Indiana)
2026 Primary Election results (certified), Indiana Election Night Reporting (Indiana Election Division)

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.
At the polls: Indiana law lets you bring a list of candidates and public questions into the polling place, including one stored on your phone, as long as you don't electioneer. IC 3-11-8-18.5

This is not an official ballot. Confirm your registration, polling place and ballot with your election office through vote.gov.