New sheriff to get salary same as prior 4 years ago

Freeborn County commissioners on Tuesday approved salary increases ranging from 2 to 6 percent for elected officials and a portion of other county employees.

Bringing in the largest salary of the elected officials in 2015 will be Freeborn County Attorney Craig Nelson, who will receive $102,000, or a 3.3 percent increase from 2014. Nelson received $98,736 this year.

Other salaries approved were the following:

• $75,000 for Sheriff-elect Kurt Freitag, which is the amount Freitag requested at a workshop last week. This is the same amount present Sheriff Bob Kindler received in 2011 during his first year as sheriff.

• $63,200 for Recorder Kelly Callahan, who received $60,025 this year. This is a 5.2 percent increase. Callahan had requested $65,000.

• $68,200 for Auditor-Treasurer Pat Martinson, who received $64,320 this year. This is a 6 percent increase. Martinson had requested $70,500.

• $22,674 for the county commissioners. This is unchanged from the present salary, which has been in place for at least three years.

Freeborn County Administrator John Kluever said the sheriff’s salary passed unanimously,  while the attorney and recorder salaries passed 4-1, with Commissioner Dan Belshan voting against.

The auditor-treasurer salary passed 3-2, with Commissioner Christopher Shoff and Belshan voting against.

The commissioners approved a two-year contract for correctional sergeants in the Freeborn County jail that includes a 2.25 percent increase. They approved a one-year 2.25 percent increase for AFSCME workers.

The 2.25 percent increases are in line with the salaries approved at a previous meeting for non-union employees and patrol sergeants.

Still to be negotiated are salaries for corrections officers in the jail, deputies and dispatchers.