Scott County Sheriff Kevin Studnicka will be getting a raise this year after all, albeit a smaller one than he had hoped.
A district court judge recently ordered the county to bump the sheriff's salary up by about $4,000, to $117,872, for 2011.
Studnicka, elected in 2010 to his second term as sheriff, had appealed his 2011 salary in court, arguing that the county board froze it at the 2010 level without regard for his duties, qualifications and performance as required by law.
County Attorney Pat Ciliberto also appealed his salary and those of his top deputies. That case is still pending.
In his order, Judge William Macklin noted that the sheriff's salary was below the average pay of sheriffs in other suburban metro counties and cited testimony from Scott County commissioners and administrators that indicated "the sole rationale for freezing the salaries of the sheriff and other elected officials was to set the stage for negotiating a 'wage freeze' with represented employees by setting an example of frugality."
The sheriff, citing average salaries for colleagues in other suburban metro counties and Scott County's internal pay scale, had requested a salary between $126,632 and $132,459.
In arguments to the judge, the county had suggested a salary of $119,135, based on the pay of its other administrators and the internal pay scale.
Macklin settled on $117,872 by drawing a comparison with Carver County, most similar in size to Scott County, where the newly elected sheriff makes $115,000.
