Freeborn County Sheriff Kurt Freitag won't be getting a pay raise after all.
Freitag, sheriff since 2015, appealed his salary last year, as sheriffs have the right to do under state law. Freitag said he deserved more than the $97,020 salary set for 2019 by the county Board of Commissioners — a 5% raise over his previous salary.
Freitag said his experience and responsibilities warranted higher pay, and he offered a suggested figure based on the median salaries of other sheriffs in his area as well as sheriffs of comparable counties elsewhere in the state.
A Freeborn County District Court judge agreed, awarding Freitag a salary of $113,952 for 2019, which represented a 23% pay increase. The court ruled that the commissioners acted in an "arbitrary and capricious manner" and didn't fully understand the sheriff's duties and responsibilities. The county appealed that decision.
In a recent ruling, the Minnesota Court of Appeals overturned the decision and ordered that Freitag's salary revert to the lower figure set by the county board.
"The district court's findings and legal conclusions … are clearly erroneous," the appeals court ruled.
The appeals court said county commissioners had enough information to make a decision, as well as sufficient knowledge of the sheriff's functions.
"By awarding Freitag a 5% raise, the county board exercised its judgment while simultaneously considering the required statutory factors," the appeals court wrote.
