County Auditor

The basics

Term

4 years. ^[2]

Term limit

No person may hold the office of clerk, auditor, recorder, treasurer, sheriff or coroner more than eight years in any period of twelve years (Indiana Constitution, Art. 6, Sec. 2). ^{[11, 12]}

Who may stand

Must have resided in the county at least one year before the election (Art. 6, Sec. 4), must keep residing in the county (the officer forfeits office on moving out), and must be registered to vote; candidates file a statement of economic interests. ^{[11, 13]}

Training the law requires

Must complete 5 hours of newly-elected-official training before taking office (first term), then at least 15 hours within one year and 40 hours within three years after each election, using Association of Indiana Counties courses approved by the State Board of Accounts. ^[14]

On the 2026 ballot

65 races in Indiana

What the law puts in this job

• Fiscal officer of the county and clerk of both the commissioners and the council. ^{[2, 3, 4]}
• Presents claims to the commissioners and issues warrants only against appropriations; may not let an appropriation be overdrawn (knowing violation is a Class A misdemeanor). ^{[5, 6, 7]}
• Certifies net assessed value to DLGF by Aug. 1, settles taxes with the treasurer by June 20 and Dec. 20, and distributes property and income tax to all units; files the county's Annual Financial Report with the State Board of Accounts. ^{[8, 9, 10]}
• Must give written notice before amending a certified assessed-value statement (2026 change). ^[8]

What the officeholder decides

• Implementing SEA 1 local income tax distributions from 2029 and the new county-option and homestead credits on tax bills. ^[12]
• Timely AFR filing (DLGF may not approve budgets without it) and contract-upload attestation by March 2 each year. ^{[28, 29]}
• Accounting and tax-billing software choices shared with the treasurer. ^[1]

Who the officeholder answers to

• The county council fixes the officer's salary and the number and pay of deputies and staff in an annual salary ordinance; an elected officer's pay may not be changed during the year for which it is fixed. ^{[15, 16, 17]}
• Each officer files an itemized budget estimate before the Thursday after the first Monday in August and a positions/compensation statement before July 2; the council adopts the budget by Nov. 1. ^{[18, 19, 20]}
• The officer appoints deputies and staff within the positions the council authorizes, and keeps final authority over discipline of employees under the officer's supervision (new in 2026). ^{[21, 22]}
• Contracts an elected officer signs must be in the county's name and submitted to the commissioners for execution or review; the commissioners may void a contract signed without that review. ^{[23, 24]}
• The State Board of Accounts audits county offices at least once every four years (risk-based); DLGF certifies the county budget and tax rates. ^{[25, 26]}
• If the county is declared unauditable, the county must hire a CPA. ^[27]

What it pays, and who sets that

• Set by the county council; many counties add a $2,500 stipend line for the auditor (seen in 2026 budgets). ^{[15, 1]}
• Varies by county.
• In the 53 of 65 counties where a salary line could be identified in the 2026 budget, elected-official pay lines ran from $39,130 to $122,470 (median $63,268). From county budget lines; verify against each county's salary ordinance. ^[1]

Questions worth asking a candidate

Ours, not a questionnaire anyone answered. They come from what the job actually involves.

• Has the county's Annual Financial Report been filed on time in recent years? What would you do to keep it on time?
• How will you prepare for the 2029 local income tax changes?
• What reports would you publish so residents can follow county spending?

What we could not find

• State Board of Accounts audit findings by county were not collected (search API unreachable).

Sources

Office research by Legal Insights (Oct. 13, 2026): Indiana Code 2026 edition, state agencies and county budgets. Nothing here rates an officeholder or candidate.