Township Trustee

The basics

Term

4 years, beginning Jan. 1 after election. ^[3]

Term limit

None. ^[3]

Who may stand

Must live in the township and forfeits office on moving out. ^[3]

Training the law requires

5 hours before first taking office; at least 14 hours within one year and 36 hours within three years after each election (for those elected on or after Nov. 5, 2023). ^[4]

On the 2026 ballot

939 races in Indiana

What the law puts in this job

• Administers township assistance (emergency help with rent, utilities and other basic needs), receives and pays out township funds, manages township property and records, maintains cemeteries and parks, acts as fence viewer, and provides fire protection (except in consolidated Marion townships). ^[1]
• Prepares the estimated budget for the township board's annual meeting and files the adopted budget with DLGF; files the annual township assistance report. ^{[1, 2]}

What the officeholder decides

• SEA 270-2026: DLGF scores every township by Dec. 31, 2026 (points for not providing township assistance in 2023-24, not managing fire/EMS, missed financial reports, continued budgets, few assistance applications, and others); "designated" townships with 4+ points must merge into a recipient township, effective by Jan. 1, 2029, with new township officers elected in 2030. ^{[10, 11, 12, 13]}
• Fire protection: from tax year 2029 the county allocates a new fire/EMS local income tax component among providers, and township departments where salaried firefighters make most runs must get a share. ^{[14, 15]}
• Township assistance standards and how much assistance is provided. ^[9]

Who the officeholder answers to

• Voters; the township board adopts the budget and levy and reviews the trustee's annual report; county commissioners receive township assistance standards; State Board of Accounts audits. ^{[7, 8, 9]}

What it pays, and who sets that

• Compensation is fixed by the township board. ^{[5, 6]}
• Varies widely by township; not compiled here.

Questions worth asking a candidate

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

• How many households did the township help last year, and with what?
• Does the township fund fire protection directly, contract for it, or neither?
• Is the township at risk of a required merger under SEA 270? What would you do about it?
• How large is the township's cash balance compared with what it spends?

What we could not find

• Township budgets and pay were not compiled for this file (Gateway has township unit data).

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.