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2026 General Election · Tuesday, November 3, 2026

Putnam County Council, District 1

Voted on across Putnam County, in district 1.

Find your exact ballotAll Putnam County races

Who votes on this seat: Only voters who live in District 1 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].

Putnam 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

$150,100

0.4% of the county's adopted 2026 budget · 149% more than 2019, before inflation

2019: $60,3242020: $63,9182021: $68,4482022: $71,5202023: $76,6042024: $80,6222025: $139,3722026: $150,100
2019 $60,3242026 $150,100
The year-by-year figures

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

  • 2019: $60,324
  • 2020: $63,918
  • 2021: $68,448
  • 2022: $71,520
  • 2023: $76,604
  • 2024: $80,622
  • 2025: $139,372
  • 2026: $150,100

Budget lines counted: 0061 COUNTY COUNCIL

Adopted 2026 county budget (Form 1 line items, Form 4B) and earlier years' budgets

Also on the record for this office

  • SEA 1 estimated county-unit revenue change in 2028 vs prior law: $-748,720 (LSA)
  • MUST taskforce (LIT distribution talks): none found
  • wheel tax: adopted
  • 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.

General Fund cash, in days of spending · 2025

204 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 22 of 33 counties with 25,000 to 50,000 residents that have this figure (1 = highest value)

source · source

Share of the 2025 General Fund budget spent · 2025

108.0%

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 7 of 33 counties with 25,000 to 50,000 residents that have this figure (1 = highest value)

source · source

County debt per resident · 2025

$36.96

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 22 of 27 counties with 25,000 to 50,000 residents that have this figure (1 = highest value)

source · source

Budget growth, 2023 to 2026 · 2023-2026

+32.0%

Adopted budget, all funds, not adjusted for inflation.

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

Position 5 of 34 counties with 25,000 to 50,000 residents that have this figure (1 = highest value)

source · source

SEA 1 estimate for 2028 · 2028 (LSA estimate)

-9.0%

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 27 of 34 counties with 25,000 to 50,000 residents that have this figure (1 = highest value)

source

Property tax cap credits · 2026

6.0%

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 20 of 34 counties with 25,000 to 50,000 residents that have this figure (1 = highest value)

source · source

Local income tax share of county revenue · 2026

58.0%

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 5 of 34 counties with 25,000 to 50,000 residents that have this figure (1 = highest value)

source · source

Meeting minutes online · 2026-10

Posted as scanned images

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

  • Incumbent Wayne Huffman (Republican) faces Democrat Chuck Spears. Huffman was unopposed in the May 5, 2026 Republican primary [25]. District 1 covers Russell, Franklin, Jackson, Floyd and Monroe townships, including Floyd Township, where Heritage Lake is located [24, 40].
  • No Democrats ran for county council in the May 5, 2026 primary [40]. A Banner Graphic column the next day said the party hoped to fill the vacancies in the coming weeks [41]. The Democratic nominees now appear on the state's general-election candidate list [10] and on the county Democratic Party's 2026 ballot page [42].
  • Putnam County (county seat: Greencastle) has a seven-member county council: four members elected by district and three elected at large. The council approves budgets, sets salaries and tax rates and appropriates county funds [43, 44]. The four district seats are on the 2026 ballot; the at-large seats were last filled in 2024 [23].
  • Current members are President Stephanie Campbell, Vice President Jay Alcorn, Danny Wallace, Wayne Huffman, Brian Berry, Amanda Brown and Kerry Williams [43].
  • The biggest council decision of 2025–2026 was the courthouse annex. After a 3-3 vote in December 2025 stalled the project, the council voted 5-2 on Jan. 20, 2026 to declare a need for it (Huffman and Brown voted no) [34, 37, 36]. On April 21, 2026 the council unanimously chose a 20-year general obligation bond of $12,025,000 for the $15.8 million project, with the option to refinance or pay it off after 10 years. The county's adviser said the council's goal was to pay for the bonds from existing revenue rather than a new property tax [38, 45]. Ground was broken in June 2026, with completion expected in August–October 2027 [46].
  • The 2025 state property-tax law (Senate Bill 1) is a recurring concern. In March 2026 Council President Campbell said, "The state is forcing us to increase income tax with SB 1 to do everything and we're already at a shortfall" [47]. Council members have also said its effects remain uncertain [31, 48].
  • Roads and bridges are a long-running funding issue. In June 2024 the council unanimously raised the wheel tax and vehicle excise surtax to their maximum rates, which was expected to add about $1.3 million a year for roads and bridges [29]. In June 2025 it voted 4-2 to give $600,000 in one-time interest money to bridge work [31], and in March 2026 it approved $1,000,000 from the EDIT war chest for the highway department [49]. At an Oct. 1, 2026 forum, Commissioner Rick Woodall said the county has 220 bridges and is No. 1 in the state for the worst bridge conditions [50].
  • Other 2026 budget issues include 911 staffing and an E911 radio-tower contract of about $1 million [49, 38, 51], aging jail plumbing [52], a sheriff's request for four more jail deputies in the 2027 budget [53, 54], and a study of a countywide fire district [55]. At the August 2026 budget hearings the council approved 3% raises for elected officials. Minutes also record that the highway budget is fine for 2027 but "in 2028 the current budget will not be sustainable" [54].
  • The Greencastle League of Women Voters, WGRE 91.5 FM and the Banner Graphic invited both candidates to an Oct. 7, 2026 forum at DePauw University [56]. No written report of that forum was found.
  • Key differences: Huffman has a voting record on the annex, where he favored a firm cost cap and shorter financing, and on roads and abatements. Spears has stressed scrutiny of how tax dollars are prioritized, but no specific county proposals from him were found [36, 42].

Candidates on the ballot

Wayne Huffman

RepublicanIncumbent

Republican Wayne Huffman has held the District 1 seat since January 2023. He retired from Nucor Steel after 33 years, and he was unopposed in the May 2026 primary [60, 23, 25].

Huffman's background

  • Born and raised in Bainbridge; graduated from North Putnam High School in 1981 [60].
  • Managed fast-food restaurants and worked at Greencastle Manufacturing before retiring from Nucor Steel after 33 years [60].
  • Former Cubmaster in Bainbridge and youth-activities volunteer [60].
  • Has represented District 1 on the county council since 2023 [22, 23].

Huffman's positions

Budget & taxes

  • In a 2022 debate, asked whether he would support a tax increase for infrastructure, he said, "Yes, I would, if I could communicate to our taxpayers that it was going to be spent appropriately" [24].
  • Voted for the 2024 increase in the wheel tax and vehicle surtax for roads and bridges [29].

Public safety & jail

  • In November 2025 he said annex financing should not run longer than 10 years because of the jail's condition (per the minutes) [35].
  • Named EMS as one of the county's major needs in 2022 [24].

Roads & infrastructure

  • Voted for $600,000 for bridges in June 2025 [31].
  • In 2022 he called semi traffic around the courthouse square the biggest obstacle to downtown growth and said he wanted a bypass [24].

Economic development

  • Voted for the 2024 Buzzi Unicem abatement and the October 2025 storage-warehouse abatement [28, 32].

How Huffman would run the office

  • In his 2022 announcement he said he would "work with the rest of the Council and the Commissioners to ensure that our resources are used to build a stronger Putnam County" [60]. No 2026 platform statement was found.

Huffman on the current officeholder

  • Is the current officeholder. No statements by Huffman about his challenger were found in sources reviewed.

How Huffman got on the ballot

  • Unopposed in the May 5, 2026 Republican primary [25, 59].

What we could not find about Huffman

  • No 2026 campaign statement or website found.
  • Was invited to the Oct. 7, 2026 League of Women Voters forum; no written account of what he said was found, and the recording could not be reviewed for this profile.
  • No campaign-finance filings found.
  • No law-enforcement or legal experience was found in sources reviewed.
  • No endorsements or campaign-finance reports were found in sources reviewed.

Sources for Huffman

Chuck Spears

Democratic

Democrat Chuck Spears is a skilled assembler at Allison Transmission in Speedway and a member of the UAW Local 933 election committee. He lives at Heritage Lake [42].

Spears's background

  • Works at Allison Transmission in Speedway as a skilled assembler, in his 15th year there; serving a second term on the UAW Local 933 Election Committee [42, 57].
  • Graduated from Ben Davis High School in Indianapolis and attended IUPUI; has lived at Heritage Lake for eight years after 25 years in Plainfield [57].
  • Ran in the May 2026 Democratic primary for delegate to the state Democratic convention [58, 57].

Spears's positions

Budget & taxes

  • Says that as a council member he would "help decide how resources are allocated, determine county budget and approve funding for essential services," and that "I care about how tax dollars are spent and what things get priority, how and why" [42].

How Spears got on the ballot

  • Was not a council candidate in the May 5, 2026 primary; no Democrats filed for council [40, 59]. Now listed as the Democratic nominee for District 1 [10, 42].

What we could not find about Spears

  • How and when he was named to the ballot was not found.
  • Was invited to the Oct. 7, 2026 League of Women Voters forum; no written account of what he said was found, and the recording could not be reviewed for this profile.
  • Result of his 2026 state-convention delegate race not found.
  • No campaign website or campaign-finance filings found.
  • No law-enforcement, legal or prior elected-office experience was found in sources reviewed.
  • No specific proposals beyond his statement on budget priorities were found [42].
  • No statements about Huffman's record were found in sources reviewed.
  • No endorsements or campaign-finance reports were found in sources reviewed.

Sources for Spears

Key points

  • Incumbent Wayne Huffman (Republican) faces Democrat Chuck Spears. Huffman was unopposed in the May 5, 2026 Republican primary. District 1 covers Russell, Franklin, Jackson, Floyd and Monroe townships, including Floyd Township, where Heritage Lake is located. (Banner Graphic)
  • Putnam County government adopted a $34.9 million budget for 2026, about $922 per resident; that is +32.0% 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 -9.0% 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. Huffman tops incumbent Fuhrman for GOP nod in County Council District 1 (Banner Graphic)
  20. Eight county officials assume office in new year (Banner Graphic)
  21. Fuhrman, Huffman face off in County Council debate (Banner Graphic)
  22. Fidler wins County Council bid, Incumbent Wallace retains spot (Banner Graphic)
  23. County Council approves abatement on Buzzi addition (Banner Graphic)
  24. Council approves increase to wheel tax/surtax (Banner Graphic)
  25. County Council puts $600,000 toward bridges (Banner Graphic)
  26. County Council tie results in no tax abatement for proposed storage facility (Banner Graphic)
  27. County Council axes Annex plan after Commissioners give approval (Banner Graphic)
  28. Council Meeting, Regular Session, November 18, 2025 (minutes) (Putnam County Council)
  29. Council & Commissioner Meeting, Joint Session, January 20, 2026 (minutes) (Putnam County Council)
  30. Joint meeting between Commissioners and Council leads to Annex progress (Banner Graphic)
  31. Council Meeting, Regular Session, April 21, 2026 (minutes) (Putnam County Council)
  32. 2026 Voting Opportunities in Putnam County (submitted by the Greencastle League of Women Voters) (Banner Graphic)
  33. Putnam voter turnout — if you can call it that —17.39% (Banner Graphic)
  34. Putnam County 2026 Election Ballot (Putnam County Democratic Party)
  35. County Council (Putnam County, Indiana)
  36. Jay Alcorn appointed to Putnam County Council (Banner Graphic)
  37. Council approves length of Courthouse Annex bonds (Banner Graphic)
  38. County officially breaks ground on new courthouse annex (Banner Graphic)
  39. County Council makes progress with ongoing Courthouse Annex bonds (Banner Graphic)
  40. Republican candidates forum held at Fairgrounds (Banner Graphic)
  41. Council Meeting, Regular Session, March 17, 2026 (minutes) (Putnam County Council)
  42. Emerson: Candidate Forum provides community with insight to upcoming election (Banner Graphic)
  43. Council Meeting, Regular Session, May 19, 2026 (minutes) (Putnam County Council)
  44. Commissioners weigh options with fixing jail plumbing (Banner Graphic)
  45. Council Meeting, Budget Hearings, August 18, 2026 (minutes) (Putnam County Council)
  46. Council Meeting, Budget Hearings, August 19, 2026 (minutes) (Putnam County Council)
  47. Talks of county-wide Fire District begin at Cloverdale Town Council (Banner Graphic)
  48. Pair of 'Meet the Candidates' Forums set for Oct. 1 and Oct. 7 (Banner Graphic)
  49. Candidate Bio: Chuck Spears for Putnam County Democratic Delegate (Banner Graphic)
  50. Democrats vying for office in Primary Election (Banner Graphic)
  51. Full list of candidates for May Primary announced (Banner Graphic)
  52. Huffman challenges for District 1 County Council seat (Banner Graphic)
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.