Indiana counties split authority between two separately elected boards: a three-member Board of Commissioners that handles administration and executive functions, and a County Council (7 or 9 members) that controls the budget and fiscal matters. There's no single fused board and no separately elected strong executive — a budget or fiscal question goes to the council, while a permitting or administrative question goes to the commissioners. Marion County is the exception, consolidated with Indianapolis under "Unigov." Most counties list both bodies' meeting agendas and clerk contacts on the county website.

Most states fuse legislative and executive power into one small elected board; Indiana instead splits authority between two separately elected bodies — commissioners for administration, a council for the budget — with neither holding both.