Pulaski County Council, District 3

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]

Pulaski 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 county's council has no budget lines of its own (department 0061); council pay is probably budgeted under the commissioners or another department.

Also on the record for this office

• SEA 1 estimated county-unit revenue change in 2028 vs prior law: $1,268,440 (LSA)
• MUST taskforce (LIT distribution talks): discussed
• wheel tax: none found
• fiscal consultant named in records: Baker Tilly

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.

About this race

• District 3 covers Franklin, Jefferson, Rich Grove and Tippecanoe townships ^{[24, 29]}.
• Gail Lambert defeated appointed incumbent Ken Boswell in the May 5, 2026 Republican primary, 305-110. No Democrat was on the primary ballot. Doug Denton was added as the Democratic candidate by the July 6, 2026 deadline for parties to fill ballot vacancies ^{[23, 28, 24, 30]}.
• The seat was last on the ballot in 2022, when Republican Jerome Locke won 510 votes to independent Robert Keller Jr.'s 227 and Democrat Josh Stacy's 164 ^{[31, 32]}.
• Pulaski County's council has seven members: four elected by district and three at large. The four district seats are on the 2026 ballot, and only voters living in a district vote for that district's seat ^{[33, 29, 24]}.
• Budget and taxes: at the July 13, 2026 council meeting, the county's Baker Tilly adviser explained the state's new local income tax structure under SEA 1 (2025) and HEA 1210, including a Municipal Unit Strategic Taskforce (MUST) of county and town officials that must agree on income tax distribution, with a report due to the state by December 1, 2026. Asked how short the county would be, he said, assuming revenue growth, "$4.6 million in 2029" ^[27]. At the June 8 meeting, the county's community development director told the council the maximum county income tax rate will drop from 2.5% to 1.7% and that the county will have to decide how much goes to operations versus sharing with libraries and townships ^[25]. The 2027 budget was set for adoption on October 12, 2026 ^[34].
• Solar and energy projects: several large solar projects (Mammoth, Moss Creek, Bottlebrush and Mayapple) are under way or planned, with VS Engineering monitoring compliance under agreements paid by the developers ^{[35, 36]}. In February 2025 the council deadlocked 3-3 on a motion to deny preliminary tax-abatement (ERA) resolutions for two Mammoth Solar projects, so the resolutions were rejected ^[37]. On June 8, 2026, the council voted 6-1 to amend the Bottlebrush (Invenergy) economic development agreement, pushing back the construction schedule in exchange for a $250,000 payment and keeping payments starting December 31, 2027 ^[26]. Residents at council and commissioner meetings have asked for clearer tracking of solar payments ^{[25, 36]}.
• Other council business in 2026 included a dispute over a 2022 ambulance order with a $158,000 cancellation fee, a raise in EMS longevity tiers to 2.5%, a tabled change to the county's tax-abatement scoring rules, and funding for jail shower replacement design ^{[27, 25]}.
• No candidate forums or debates for this race were found in sources reviewed.

Candidates on the ballot

Key points

• District 3 covers Franklin, Jefferson, Rich Grove and Tippecanoe townships. (Pulaski Post)
• Pulaski County government adopted a $23.9 million budget for 2026, about $1,917 per resident; that is +5.2% 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 +21.3% versus prior law once fully in effect (2028, since delayed to 2029 by HEA 1210). (Indiana Legislative Services Agency)

Sources