County Commissioner

The basics

Term

4 years; one or two seats at each general election. ^[11]

Term limit

None. ^[11]

Who may stand

One year county residence and six months in the commissioner district before the election; everyone in the county votes for every seat except in Lake and St. Joseph counties. ^{[12, 13]}

On the 2026 ballot

94 races in Indiana

What the law puts in this job

• Acts as the county executive and, outside counties under IC 36-2-3.5, as the legislative body that passes ordinances (including zoning). ^{[2, 3]}
• Must establish and maintain the county jail; allows claims; appoints the highway supervisor and engineer; supervises county roads and bridges, buildings and the MVH road fund. ^{[4, 5, 6, 7]}
• Executes or reviews contracts of elected officers, adopts the county personnel policy (2026), opts in to Health First Indiana and appoints many boards. ^{[8, 9, 10]}

What the officeholder decides

• Jail and courthouse projects (the commissioners must maintain the jail; council funds it). ^[4]
• Roads and bridges: asset management plans, Community Crossings grant applications, wheel tax proposals. ^[19]
• Township merger pairings: if all townships in the county score 4+ points, the commissioners must designate recipient townships; mergers effective by Jan. 1, 2029 (SEA 270-2026). ^{[20, 21]}
• Zoning and land use, including data centers, solar and wind; the 2026 housing law requires a public hearing reviewing the unified development ordinance by Jan. 1, 2027. ^[22]
• SEA 1-2025, as delayed by HEA 1210-2026, rewrites local income tax (LIT) from tax year 2029: the county council alone adopts a county general rate of up to 1.2% plus optional fire/EMS (0.4%), non-municipal (0.2%) and municipal-services (1.2%) rates; cities and towns of 3,500+ adopt their own rate; existing county rates continue after Dec. 31, 2028 only if renewed by ordinance by Oct. 1, 2028; special LIT rates for jails, PSAPs and others are repealed Jan. 1, 2029. ^[22]

Who the officeholder answers to

• Voters; the council appropriates all money; a court may remove a commissioner who misses four consecutive regular meetings (on resolution). ^{[15, 16]}
• State Board of Accounts audits; DLGF certifies budgets. ^{[17, 18]}

What it pays, and who sets that

• Set by the council in the salary ordinance. ^[14]
• Varies; presidents are sometimes paid more.
• In the 72 of 91 counties where a salary line could be identified in the 2026 budget, elected-official pay lines ran from $10,081 to $98,880 (median $27,908). 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.

• What is the county's most urgent capital need, and how would you pay for it?
• How should the county decide on large land uses such as data centers and solar farms?
• Are meeting minutes and video posted promptly? Would you commit to that?
• How will you work with the council on the 2028 income tax decisions?

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.