Spencer County Council, District 1

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 has changed in this job lately

Changes in the law the next officeholder will work under, most distant first.

1. 2023

   State law gave counties with 185,000 to 300,000 residents until September 1, 2023, to opt in to a nine-member council elected entirely from single-member districts ^{[1, 4, 19]}.

2. April 15, 2025

   Gov. Mike Braun signed Senate Enrolled Act 1, a property tax law he called historic tax relief; Rep. Greg Porter (D-Indianapolis) called it a lose-lose and said it would cost local governments and schools up to $1.8 billion over three years ^[20].

3. 2025

   SEA 1 rewrote county local income taxes: existing rates were set to be replaced by a new structure, local income tax councils were to be eliminated with the county fiscal body becoming the adopting body, the total county expenditure rate was capped at 2.9%, and cities and towns with at least 3,500 residents gained the power to adopt their own rate ^[16].

4. March 12, 2026

   House Enrolled Act 1210 delayed the local income tax overhaul by one year; current ordinances now expire January 1, 2029, the repeal of local income tax councils and the levy freeze is also delayed a year, and counties may form a Municipal Unit Strategic Taskforce with city and town representatives to negotiate revenue sharing ^{[17, 21]}.

5. 2026

   Senate tax committee chair Travis Holdman (R-Markle) said the delay aims for a more streamlined, tailored plan because counties are not all alike, while Amy Krieg of the organization representing cities and towns said the issue will be a multi-year discussion ^[21].

Spencer 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.

Also on the record for this office

• SEA 1 estimated county-unit revenue change in 2028 vs prior law: $-485,510 (LSA)
• MUST taskforce (LIT distribution talks): none found
• wheel tax: none found
• fiscal consultant named in records: none found

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 1 incumbent Steve Haaff (Republican) faces Democrat Jessica Weber. Haaff was unopposed in the May 5, 2026 Republican primary with 256 votes (listed in the Herald as "Steve Haff"); no Democrat filed for the primary ^[23].
• Spencer County's seven-member council is the county's fiscal body: it sets budgets and tax rates and approves additional appropriations. Four members represent districts and three serve at large; the at-large members (Aaron Benton, Brian Greulich, David Gogel) are not on the 2026 ballot. Benton has been council president and Greulich vice president since at least January 2025 ^{[25, 26]}.
• Budget and taxes: The council adopted a 2025 budget of $18,404,721 with a total tax rate of $0.5223 (Oct. 15, 2024) and a 2026 county budget of $19,940,284 (Oct. 21, 2025) ^{[27, 32]}. On Nov. 3, 2025 it re-adopted the 2026 budget after a typo was found in the Cumulative Bridge Fund figures ^[35]. The Dubois County Herald reported that in November 2025 the council, on Benton's proposal, set a combined 2026 county rate of 0.5189%, slightly below the prior year ^[36]. Department hearings for the 2027 budget were held in August 2026 ^{[37, 38]}.
• Energy projects and abatements: On June 16, 2026 the council held a public hearing on an economic revitalization area and tax abatement for a proposed Tenaska natural-gas power plant; 15 residents spoke ^[39]. The Dubois County Herald reported that the 10-year declining abatement then failed 3-4; the article did not list how each member voted. Residents raised water use, air pollution, noise, traffic and data-center concerns, and Tenaska said it had no data-center plans ^[34]. Earlier, on May 19, 2026, the preliminary resolution passed 6-1 with Justin Grose opposed ^[40].
• Regional development: In March–April 2026 the council adopted Ordinance 2026-02 to keep Spencer County in the Mid-States Corridor Regional Development Authority after opponents, including a state Senate candidate, asked the county to withdraw; the first reading passed 6-1 with David Fromme opposed ^{[41, 42]}.
• Public safety and jail: The council funds the sheriff, jail, community corrections and county ambulance service through regular appropriations. In March 2026 it approved $50,000 from riverboat funds for a sheriff's department jail study ^[41]; in 2026 it also approved $75,000 in extra ambulance operating funds after paramedic overtime, and funding for an inmate's hospital care, inmate prescriptions and ballistic vests ^[38].
• Roads: The highway superintendent told the council in April 2026 that the lowest blacktop bid was $1.3 million, that a Phase I project on Old 231 was estimated at $1,262,400 with 80% returned to the county, and that the 2026 road-project budget is $2 million ^[42].
• No candidate forums or debates for these council races were found in sources reviewed. Dubois County Herald coverage of an American Electric Power abatement request at the Rockport plant could not be reviewed for this profile.

Who holds this seat now

Steve Haaff (Republican) — on this ballot, standing again.

Haaff's record in the job

• Nov. 2018: Won the District 1 seat, 1,546 votes to 764 ^[22]; 2022: unopposed in the Republican primary with 148 votes, with no Democratic candidate filed ^[24].
• Council representative to Community Corrections and to the county ambulance service (reappointed January 2025 and January 2026) ^{[25, 26]}.
• Oct. 15, 2024: Seconded the motion adopting the 2025 county budget ($18,404,721; total rate $0.5223), and moved approval of $73,122 for pauper (public defense) attorneys ^[27].
• Jan. 21, 2025: Moved approval of $200,000 from local income tax funds for a regional fire training center and of the new environmental and building inspector position; moved to advertise $155,000 for a highway dump truck ^[28].
• April 15, 2025: Moved approval of $6,350 for the sheriff's drug investigation fund (passed with Gogel opposed) and of $30,000 for a health department sanitarian ^[29].
• Aug. 19, 2025: Moved approval of jail additional appropriations including $40,000 overtime, $62,000 meals, $37,500 hospital and $12,500 prescriptions, and approval for the sheriff to seek a homeland security grant for rifle-rated vests and body cameras ^[30].
• Sept. 16, 2025: Moved to advertise $129,240 from local income tax funds for two sheriff's vehicles, including a K-9 unit ^[31].
• Oct. 21, 2025: Seconded adoption of the 2026 county budget ($19,940,284) and moved $66,000 for emergency ambulance services ^[32].
• Dec. 30, 2025: Moved approval of $145,000 for courthouse repair and maintenance ^[33].
• June 2026: The Dubois County Herald reported that during the Tenaska abatement debate Haaff explained the state's cap on what the county can collect in taxes; the article did not report individual votes ^[34].

Candidates on the ballot

Key points

• Spencer County's seven-member council is the county's fiscal body: it sets budgets and tax rates and approves additional appropriations. (Spencer County Council)
• Spencer County government adopted a $20.8 million budget for 2026, about $1,039 per resident; that is +26.3% 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 -4.3% versus prior law once fully in effect (2028, since delayed to 2029 by HEA 1210). (Indiana Legislative Services Agency)

Sources