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2026 General Election · Tuesday, November 3, 2026

Perry County Council, District 3

Voted on across Perry County, in district 3.

Find your exact ballotAll Perry County races

Who votes on this seat: Only voters who live in District 3 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].

Perry 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

$45,892

0.3% of the county's adopted 2026 budget · 16% more than 2019, before inflation

2019: $39,4252020: $40,7252021: $39,6702022: $39,4212023: $40,1812024: $46,8922025: $47,3922026: $45,892
2019 $39,4252026 $45,892
The year-by-year figures

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

  • 2019: $39,425
  • 2020: $40,725
  • 2021: $39,670
  • 2022: $39,421
  • 2023: $40,181
  • 2024: $46,892
  • 2025: $47,392
  • 2026: $45,892

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)

$33,481

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: $-296,770 (LSA)
  • MUST taskforce (LIT distribution talks): none found
  • wheel tax: none found
  • fiscal consultant named in records: other/in-house

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

144 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 28 of 30 counties with under 25,000 residents that have this figure (1 = highest value)

source · source

Share of the 2025 General Fund budget spent · 2025

99.0%

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 15 of 30 counties with under 25,000 residents that have this figure (1 = highest value)

source · source

County debt per resident · 2025

$79.94

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 10 of 17 counties with under 25,000 residents that have this figure (1 = highest value)

source · source

Budget growth, 2023 to 2026 · 2023-2026

+18.9%

Adopted budget, all funds, not adjusted for inflation.

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

Position 19 of 30 counties with under 25,000 residents that have this figure (1 = highest value)

source · source

SEA 1 estimate for 2028 · 2028 (LSA estimate)

-5.4%

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 15 of 30 counties with under 25,000 residents that have this figure (1 = highest value)

source

Property tax cap credits · 2026

11.1%

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 6 of 30 counties with under 25,000 residents that have this figure (1 = highest value)

source · source

Local income tax share of county revenue · 2026

41.4%

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 14 of 30 counties with under 25,000 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

  • Perry County has a seven-member county council: one member from each of four districts and three elected countywide. It meets on the fourth Thursday of each month at the courthouse in Tell City [34]. District 3 and District 4 are single-member seats. The county website lists Kelli Harding (District 1), Stan Goffinet (District 2), Brad Harth (District 3), Paul Brockman (District 4) and at-large members David Etienne, Gale Garner and Cory Filley [34]; Goffinet no longer appears in council minutes after November 2025 [29], and July 2026 minutes list a Roger Peter as a council member [33].
  • Harth is the appointed incumbent and is seeking his first full term. He was unopposed in the May 5, 2026 Republican primary (178 votes); no Democrat appeared on the primary ballot for District 3 [35]. Tabitha Sue Adams-Crosby is the Democratic nominee on the November ballot [10]; how she was added to the ballot was not found in public sources.
  • In 2022 the District 3 seat was decided by 16 votes (856 to 840) [24].
  • Budget pressure: at the September 11, 2025 budget hearing, council president Kelli Harding said the requested 2026 budget had to be cut by $2.6 million [36]. On October 9, 2025 the council voted 7-0 to adopt a 2026 budget of $13,663,054 [27]. The Form 4 read on October 15, 2025 listed a proposed county general fund tax rate of 0.5819 and a total proposed rate of 0.7534 for the funds the state reviews; Harding noted the state could lower it [37].
  • State property-tax changes: council members repeatedly cited Senate Enrolled Act 1 (2025) as a reason for spending restraint. In February 2025 Harding asked to hold off on filling a part-time clerk position because of uncertainty over Senate Bill 1 [23]. In January 2026 the County Auditor told the council that county employees outside the courts were making less in 2026 than in 2025 [30].
  • Other 2025–2026 issues before the council included a joint meeting with the commissioners on moving local income tax (EDIT) money into new funds for economic development, courthouse security, building maintenance, highway projects and jail operations [38]; tax abatements for a Webb Wheel Products expansion in Tell City [28]; a new county tax-abatement policy [30]; a pay schedule for sheriff's deputies after several resignations [29, 30]; whether to hire a county engineer for roads [30]; and a review of the county's ambulance (EMS) contract, which dates to the 1980s [39].
  • 2027 budget: the county's calendar set a public hearing and first reading for September 3, 2026 and budget adoption for October 1, 2026 [40]. In July 2026 Harding said the council would hear department budget requests and consider employee wage increases before inviting outside agencies to ask for money [33]. Minutes of the September and October 2026 budget meetings were not available for this profile.
  • No candidate forum or debate for this race was found.

Candidates on the ballot

Tabitha Sue Adams-Crosby

Democratic

Democratic nominee for District 3 [10]. No public information about her background or positions was found.

How Adams-Crosby got on the ballot

  • Did not appear on the May 5, 2026 primary ballot [35]; she is listed as the Democratic candidate on the state's general-election list [10].

What we could not find about Adams-Crosby

  • How she was added to the ballot (for example, by party caucus to fill a ballot vacancy) was not confirmed.
  • No campaign website, social media page, news coverage or candidate questionnaire was found.
  • No public comments by her were found in the 2025–2026 council minutes reviewed.
  • Local newspaper coverage (Perry County News) could not be reviewed for this profile.
  • No background information was found in local news or official sources.
  • No campaign plans were found.
  • No statements about the incumbent were found.
  • No endorsements or campaign finance reports were found.

Sources for Adams-Crosby

Brad Harth

RepublicanIncumbent

Republican incumbent appointed to the District 3 seat in February 2025 [23]. In council meetings he has pressed for staff savings and delays to new spending while revenue is limited [25, 30, 33].

Harth's background

  • Has served on the Perry County Council since February 2025 [23].
  • Was appointed to the Public Library Board by the county commissioners in January 2026 [41] and to the Community Corrections Advisory Board by the council in July 2026 [33].

Harth's positions

Budget & taxes

  • Said in November 2025 that the county was trying "any way possible to save money" because it could not give raises [29].
  • In July 2026 agreed with the council president that department requests and employee wages should come before funding requests from outside agencies in the 2027 budget [33].

Property taxes & SEA 1

  • Said in June 2025 the county would be in "belt-tightening mode due to SEA 1" and would look for savings "with the minimum, detrimental effect on operations" [25].

County services & staffing

  • Moved to replace a full-time Recorder's office position with part-time help (June 2025, passed 6-1) [25] and to advertise a part-time instead of full-time Auditor's deputy (July 2026, passed 7-0) [33].
  • Said in July 2026 the council wants "as much consolidation in offices as possible" [33].

Roads & infrastructure

  • In January 2026 said hiring a county engineer was a good long-term plan but argued against doing it then, citing fiscal limits and staffing at the Highway Department; he said the county should "stop digging" a hole with its highway employees [30].

Public safety & jail

  • Moved to adopt the sheriff's deputy salary schedule in January 2026 (passed 6-0) [30].
  • Said in February 2026 the council aims to put $100,000 a year toward EMS and to rotate sheriff's vehicles so they stay fairly new [31].

Economic development

  • Seconded approval of the Webb Wheel Products personal-property tax abatement in October 2025 [28].
  • Asked in January 2026 whether the new abatement policy would protect the county from companies that take an abatement and leave, and whether it allowed flexibility [30].

Transparency

  • Said in August 2025 the council should be "more business like" and get more detail on department spending requests [26].

Harth on the current officeholder

  • Is the current officeholder. No statements by him about his opponent were found.

How Harth got on the ballot

  • Filled the District 3 vacancy in February 2025 [23].
  • Unopposed in the May 5, 2026 Republican primary with 178 votes [35].

What we could not find about Harth

  • No campaign website, social media page or news interview was found.
  • His occupation and background outside the council were not found in public sources.
  • Council minutes for September and October 2026, including 2027 budget votes, were not available for this profile.
  • No campaign platform was found; his council record emphasizes staffing savings and holding new costs until revenue improves [30, 33].
  • No endorsements or campaign finance reports were found.

Sources for Harth

Key points

  • Budget pressure: at the September 11, 2025 budget hearing, council president Kelli Harding said the requested 2026 budget had to be cut by $2.6 million. On October 9, 2025 the council voted 7-0 to adopt a 2026 budget of $13,663,054. (Perry County Council (minutes prepared by the County Auditor's office))
  • Perry County government adopted a $14.0 million budget for 2026, about $722 per resident; that is +18.9% 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 -5.4% 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

  1. Indiana Code 36-2-3-2: County council as fiscal body; size (FindLaw (Indiana Code, current as of 2026-01-01))
  2. Indiana Code 36-2-5-2: Tax rates and appropriations (FindLaw (Indiana Code, current as of 2026-01-01))
  3. Indiana Code 36-2-5-3: Compensation of officers and employees (FindLaw (Indiana Code, current as of 2026-01-01))
  4. Indiana Code 36-2-3-4: Council districts and at-large members (FindLaw (Indiana Code, current as of 2026-01-01))
  5. Commissioners Responsibilities (Boone County, Indiana)
  6. About the County Council (Hancock County, Indiana)
  7. Indiana Code 36-2-3-1: Application of chapter (FindLaw (Indiana Code, current as of 2026-01-01))
  8. County Government Overview: Indiana (National Association of Counties (NACo))
  9. Indiana Code 36-2-3-3: Election and term of fiscal body (FindLaw (Indiana Code, current as of 2026-01-01))
  10. 2026 General Election Candidate List (Indiana Election Division)
  11. Monroe County voters put three incumbent Democrats back on county council (The B Square Bulletin (Dave Askins))
  12. Indiana Code 3-8-1-22: Candidates for county council (FindLaw (Indiana Code, current as of 2026-01-01))
  13. 2026 Indiana Candidate Guide (Indiana Election Division)
  14. Indiana Code 36-2-5-11: Annual budget, tax rate and salary ordinances (FindLaw (Indiana Code, current as of 2026-01-01))
  15. Indiana Code 36-2-2-5: Qualifications and residency of members; district or countywide election (FindLaw (Indiana Code, current as of 2026-01-01))
  16. Major Changes to Expenditure Rate of LIT in SEA 1 (2025) (Barnes & Thornburg LLP)
  17. Legislation Affecting Local Income Taxes (memorandum on HEA 1210-2026) (Indiana Department of Local Government Finance)
  18. County Specific Information (Indiana Department of Local Government Finance)
  19. Perry County Council meeting minutes, 2025-02-27 (Perry County Council (minutes prepared by the County Auditor's office))
  20. 2022 General Election Results: County Council (Indiana Election Division)
  21. Perry County Council meeting minutes, 2025-06-26 (Perry County Council (minutes prepared by the County Auditor's office))
  22. Perry County Council meeting minutes, 2025-08-28 (Perry County Council (minutes prepared by the County Auditor's office))
  23. Perry County Council budget adoption meeting minutes, 2025-10-09 (Perry County Council (minutes prepared by the County Auditor's office))
  24. Perry County Council meeting minutes, 2025-10-23 (Perry County Council (minutes prepared by the County Auditor's office))
  25. Perry County Council meeting minutes, 2025-11-20 (Perry County Council (minutes prepared by the County Auditor's office))
  26. Perry County Council meeting minutes, 2026-01-22 (Perry County Council (minutes prepared by the County Auditor's office))
  27. Perry County Council meeting minutes, 2026-02-26 (Perry County Council (minutes prepared by the County Auditor's office))
  28. Perry County Council meeting minutes, 2026-07-23 (Perry County Council (minutes prepared by the County Auditor's office))
  29. County Council (Perry County, Indiana)
  30. Perry County Primary Election 2026 - Election Results (Perry County, Indiana (election results))
  31. Perry County Council special meeting and budget public hearing minutes, 2025-09-11 (Perry County Council (minutes prepared by the County Auditor's office))
  32. Perry County Council special meeting minutes (Form 4), 2025-10-15 (Perry County Council (minutes prepared by the County Auditor's office))
  33. Commissioners and County Council Joint Special Meeting agenda, April 10, 2025 (Perry County, Indiana)
  34. Perry County Council meeting minutes, 2025-05-22 (Perry County Council (minutes prepared by the County Auditor's office))
  35. 2026 Budget Calendar (for setting 2027 budgets) (Perry County, Indiana)
  36. Perry County Council organizational meeting minutes, 2026-01-05 (Perry County Council (minutes prepared by the County Auditor's office))
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.