Hendricks County, Indiana: Government Structure and Services

Hendricks County is one of Indiana's 92 counties, situated immediately west of Marion County and anchored by the county seat of Danville. The county government operates under the framework established by Indiana Code Title 36, which defines the structure, powers, and obligations of county-level administration statewide. Understanding how Hendricks County's government is organized, which offices hold specific authorities, and how services are delivered is essential for residents, contractors, researchers, and anyone interacting with local public administration.

Definition and scope

Hendricks County, established in 1823, functions as a unit of general-purpose local government within Indiana's constitutional and statutory framework. The county's governing authority is vested primarily in a 3-member Board of County Commissioners and a 7-member County Council, consistent with the standard Indiana county structure outlined in Indiana Code § 36-2 (Indiana General Assembly).

The Board of Commissioners holds executive and administrative authority — managing county property, executing contracts, and overseeing departments including the highway department, health department, and planning and zoning. The County Council functions as the fiscal body: it sets property tax rates, appropriates funds, and approves the county budget. These two bodies are structurally distinct and operate in parallel, not in a hierarchical relationship.

Additional elected offices in Hendricks County include the Auditor, Treasurer, Assessor, Recorder, Surveyor, Coroner, Clerk of the Circuit Court, Prosecutor, and Sheriff. Each of these positions carries independently defined statutory duties under Indiana Code Title 36. The Sheriff, for instance, is the principal law enforcement officer and administrator of the county jail, while the Assessor administers property valuation for the purposes of tax base calculation subject to oversight by the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance.

Scope limitations: This page addresses the governmental structure and service delivery framework of Hendricks County. It does not cover federal agencies operating within the county, Indiana state agencies with offices in Hendricks County, or the incorporated municipalities — including Danville, Avon, Plainfield, Brownsburg, and Pittsboro — which operate under separate municipal charters governed by Indiana Code Title 36, Articles 4 and 5. For the broader county government framework applicable across all 92 Indiana counties, see the Indiana County Government Structure reference.

How it works

County government in Hendricks County delivers services through a combination of elected officials, appointed department heads, and intergovernmental agreements with the State of Indiana and municipal governments within the county.

The operational structure functions as follows:

  1. Legislative and fiscal authority — The County Council enacts ordinances, sets the annual budget, and approves tax levies. Property tax rates are certified by the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance before collection begins.
  2. Executive administration — The Board of Commissioners appoints department heads for highway, planning, and health functions, and approves contracts exceeding statutory thresholds set in Indiana Code § 36-1-12.
  3. Judicial functions — Hendricks County is served by a Circuit Court and Superior Courts. Judges are elected by partisan ballot to 6-year terms under Indiana judicial election statutes.
  4. Recording and financial functions — The Auditor maintains property transfer records and calculates tax distributions; the Treasurer collects property taxes and manages county funds; the Recorder documents real property instruments, liens, and vital records.
  5. Assessment and appeals — Property assessments conducted by the county Assessor are subject to appeal through the county Property Tax Assessment Board of Appeals (PTABOA), with further appeal rights to the Indiana Board of Tax Review (Indiana Department of Local Government Finance).
  6. Law enforcement and corrections — The Hendricks County Sheriff operates the county jail and provides patrol coverage in unincorporated areas.
  7. Emergency management — The county maintains an Emergency Management Agency coordinated with the Indiana Department of Homeland Security under Indiana Code § 10-14-3.

Hendricks County participates in multiple interlocal agreements, including shared services arrangements with municipalities for road maintenance, emergency dispatch (E-911), and stormwater management. These arrangements are authorized under Indiana Code § 36-1-7.

Common scenarios

Residents and professionals most commonly interact with Hendricks County government in the following contexts:

For context on how Hendricks County's government compares to adjacent counties, the Hamilton County and Marion County entries address comparable suburban county structures in central Indiana.

Decision boundaries

Determining which level of government holds authority over a given function in Hendricks County requires distinguishing between county, municipal, township, and state jurisdiction. Overlapping service areas are a persistent source of confusion.

County vs. municipal jurisdiction: County offices serve all residents in unincorporated areas without exception. Within incorporated municipalities — Avon (population approximately 21,000 as of the 2020 U.S. Census), Brownsburg, Plainfield, and Danville — municipal governments hold primary authority over zoning, local ordinances, police services (where a municipal force exists), and municipal utilities. The county's Sheriff and courts retain jurisdiction across the entire county regardless of municipal boundaries.

County vs. township jurisdiction: Indiana's township government structure creates a third layer. Hendricks County contains 11 townships. Township trustees administer poor relief (now structured as Township Assistance under Indiana Code § 12-20) and fire protection in some unincorporated areas. Township assessors were largely consolidated into county assessor offices under 2008 reforms (Indiana Code § 36-6-5).

County vs. state jurisdiction: The Indiana Department of Transportation maintains state highways running through Hendricks County — including US-36 and SR-267 — while the County Highway Department maintains county roads. Environmental permitting for projects affecting wetlands or air quality falls under the Indiana Department of Environmental Management and federal Environmental Protection Agency authority, not the county.

School corporations: Hendricks County contains multiple independent school corporations — including Avon Community School Corporation, Brownsburg Community School Corporation, and Danville Community School Corporation — which are Indiana school corporations operating as separate taxing units outside of county administrative control, though subject to Indiana Department of Education oversight.

For a broader orientation to Indiana's government structure across all levels, the Indiana Government Authority home page provides a structured entry point to state and county government reference materials.

References