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2026 General Election · Tuesday, November 3, 2026

St. Joseph County Assessor

Voted on across St. Joseph County.

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What this office does

The county assessor is an elected county officer who oversees the valuation of property for property taxes across the county. The assessor equalizes assessments countywide, certifies gross assessments to the county auditor, finds omitted property and, in most townships, does the assessing directly [1]. Every Indiana county elects its assessor in 2026 [2].

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 [3]
Term limit
None; the assessor is not one of the offices limited by Article 6, Section 2 [4]
Qualifications
Must have lived in the county for one year before the election and own real property in the county on taking office; must hold a level two assessor-appraiser certification before a first term, and level three if previously the county assessor [2, 3]
Pay and staff
Set by the county council, which also fixes the number of deputies and employees; the officer files a budget estimate each summer [5, 6]
On the 2026 ballot
92 counties; 7 contested (more candidates, including write-ins, than seats) [7]
What the law puts in this job (4)
  • Equalizes assessments across the county and certifies gross assessments to the county auditor [1].
  • Discovers and assesses omitted property [1].
  • Assesses property in every township that does not have its own elected, qualified township assessor [1, 8].
  • Does not set tax rates or levies; those are set by the local governing bodies and reviewed by the Department of Local Government Finance [9].

St. Joseph 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

$3,739,998

1.7% of the county's adopted 2026 budget · 71% more than 2019, before inflation

2019: $2,186,7332020: $2,751,7502021: $2,478,9942022: $2,569,4522023: $2,699,0212024: $3,528,4142025: $3,739,9982026: $3,739,998
2019 $2,186,7332026 $3,739,998
The year-by-year figures

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

  • 2019: $2,186,733
  • 2020: $2,751,750
  • 2021: $2,478,994
  • 2022: $2,569,452
  • 2023: $2,699,021
  • 2024: $3,528,414
  • 2025: $3,739,998
  • 2026: $3,739,998

Budget lines counted: 0008 COUNTY ASSESSOR

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

Elected official's pay, 2026 budget line

$104,000

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

  • 2026 candidates' DLGF certification: Mike Castellon (R): Level 3 (nickname/alias name match); Victor Cummings (D): Level 1 (DLGF Assessor-Certification-List as of 8/3/26)

Measured, for this county

Ratio-study figures are county-wide numbers computed by Legal Insights' county study from the 2025 ratio study, not DLGF's official township statistics. 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.

Median assessment ratio, homes · 2026

0.902

Assessed value divided by sale price for homes that sold; the middle value. 1.00 means assessments equal sale prices.

How much this is the officeholder's to decide: high: the assessor and the assessor's vendor set values; DLGF reviews and approves the ratio study

Position 11 of 11 counties with 150,000 or more residents that have this figure (1 = highest value)

source

Assessment uniformity (COD) · 2026

9.89

Coefficient of dispersion: lower means similar homes are assessed more evenly. The IAAO residential standard is 15 or less; DLGF applies it township by township, so a county-wide figure is context.

How much this is the officeholder's to decide: high: the assessor and the assessor's vendor set values; DLGF reviews and approves the ratio study

Position 4 of 11 counties with 150,000 or more residents that have this figure (1 = highest value)

source

Price-related differential (PRD) · 2026

1.003

Whether lower- and higher-priced homes are assessed at the same ratio; the IAAO range is 0.98 to 1.03.

How much this is the officeholder's to decide: high: the assessor and the assessor's vendor set values; DLGF reviews and approves the ratio study

Position 7 of 10 counties with 150,000 or more residents that have this figure (1 = highest value)

source

Home sales used in the ratio study · 2026

1,222

How many sales the study could use; fewer sales make the other figures less certain.

Context, not something the officeholder sets: number of sales in the market, not an assessor choice

Position 11 of 11 counties with 150,000 or more residents that have this figure (1 = highest value)

source

Net assessed value growth · pay2024-pay2026

+17.2%

Change in the county's net assessed value from taxes payable in 2024 to 2026.

How much this is the officeholder's to decide: low: mostly market prices, new construction and state law; the assessor applies them

Position 3 of 11 counties with 150,000 or more residents that have this figure (1 = highest value)

source

About this race

  • The current officeholder, Mike Castellon (Republican), is on the ballot for another term [11, 7].
  • No candidate forum or debate for this race was found in free sources as of Oct. 13, 2026.

Candidates on the ballot

Mike Castellon

RepublicanIncumbent

Republican Mike Castellon has been St. Joseph County assessor since 2023 and was Penn Township assessor from 2010 [11].

Castellon's background

  • Elected St. Joseph County assessor in November 2022 with 53.1% of the vote; Penn Township assessor since 2010 before that, according to the South Bend Tribune [11].
  • In 2025 held a series of public town halls with the county auditor on assessments and appeals [12].

How Castellon got on the ballot

  • Won the May 5, 2026 Republican primary unopposed, with 9,272 votes [13].

What we could not find about Castellon

  • No campaign website, candidate questionnaire or interview stating plans for the office was found in free sources as of Oct. 13, 2026.

Sources for Castellon

Victor Cummings

Democratic

Democrat Vic Cummings, a high school football coach, says the county needs an assessor "who will help property owners get a fair deal out of Indianapolis" [14].

Cummings's background

  • Has coached high school football for ten years and has been Washington High School's offensive coordinator for three seasons, according to the county Democratic Party [14].

Cummings's positions

Property taxes

  • Says state officials "set stricter, more complicated rules aimed at breaking the will of the property owner," and that "We will aim to coach everyone who needs help combatting the red tape at the Capitol" [14].

How Cummings got on the ballot

  • Won the May 5, 2026 Democratic primary unopposed, with 12,862 votes [13].

Cummings's campaign website

Sources for Cummings

Sources

Researched Tuesday, October 13, 2026

  1. Indiana Code 36-2-15-5: County assessor; duties (Indiana General Assembly (2026 Indiana Code))
  2. 2026 Indiana Candidate Guide (County Offices) (Indiana Election Division)
  3. Indiana Code 36-2-15-2: County assessor; election and certification (Indiana General Assembly (2026 Indiana Code))
  4. Constitution of the State of Indiana, Article 6, Section 2 (quoted in the 2026 Candidate Guide) (Indiana Election Division)
  5. Indiana Code 36-2-5-3: County fiscal body; compensation and positions (Indiana General Assembly (2026 Indiana Code))
  6. Indiana Code 36-2-5-5: Officers' budget estimates (Indiana General Assembly (2026 Indiana Code))
  7. 2026 General Election Candidate List (Indiana Election Division)
  8. Indiana Code 36-6-5-1: Township assessor (Indiana General Assembly (2026 Indiana Code))
  9. Understanding Your Tax Bill (Indiana Department of Local Government Finance)
  10. A roundup of St. Joseph County sheriff, county assessor and other South Bend races (by Claire Reid and Alysa Guffey; via Yahoo News) (South Bend Tribune)
  11. St. Joe County assessor adds another town hall after requests (by Jeff Parrott) (WVPE)
  12. 2026 Primary Election results (certified), Indiana Election Night Reporting (Indiana Election Division)
  13. 2026 Candidates (St. Joseph County Democratic Party)
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.