Local Government
While the city or town government provides certain services to residents within the boundaries, county government serves residents both within city boundaries and beyond. In Indiana, county governments provide essential services, including the justice system, public health services and records, Outside the cities and towns, county government provides law enforcement and fire response, and maintains roads and highways.
County Council
The county council has fiscal oversight of county government. While the three Commissioners act as the executive and legislative arms of the county, the Council holds the purse strings, so to speak. In addition to managing the budgets, setting certain tax rates and assessing property values, Council also sets the salaries of our more than 600 county government employees.
The Budget Process
The county budget follows a very specific annual cycle set by the state. The individual departments and units overseen by the county council begin their budgeting in the early summer, following general guidelines issued by the council president. The budgets are reviewed by Council and presented by the department heads in a series of sessions in late summer. As more information about revenue becomes available, the council finalizes the budgets and they are entered into the state system in October.
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