Opinion ID: 1825826
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Sheriff's salary.

Text: The county board raised the sheriff's salary from $15,600 to $16,140; the district court found that this salary was unreasonable and was set without adequate consideration of the sheriff's duties and responsibilities. The court fixed the sheriff's salary at $18,000. The county board, in setting the sheriff's salary, considered the prevailing wage rate in the County of Fillmore for persons in similar positions employed privately. No evidence was presented as to what private occupations were considered by the board to be similar to that of county sheriff. The board also considered the previous years' salaries of the sheriff, and assumed that the Sheriff felt that his salary was reasonable, for his position, at the time he filed for re-election in 1974, or else he would not have so filed. Inasmuch as Minn.St. 387.20, subd. 2, clearly contemplates an annual review of the sheriff's salary, this consideration is only marginally relevant. The board also considered the salaries of the sheriffs of the other state counties and the overall budget of Fillmore County. The sheriff's evidence showed that the county board did not specifically consider his 25 years of law enforcement experience; no consideration was given to the fact that between 1974 and 1975 the sheriff's department doubled in the number of its personnel, primarily because the county contracted to provide full law enforcement protection for the cities of Wykoff and Spring Valley, the largest city in the county. This evidence, which the county had a right to refute by responsive affidavit, stands challenged only by the board's general declaration that it was well acquainted with the office of sheriff. The sheriff also produced evidence of the salaries paid to sheriffs of the seven neighboring counties, the years of experience of those sheriffs and the number of deputies and other employees under the supervision of each sheriff, and the population and area served by each sheriff. The trial court, considering all of the evidence, found that the board had acted unreasonably and had failed to adequately consider the duties and responsibilities of the sheriff. Reviewing the evidence, we do not find these findings clearly erroneous. We also conclude that the record supports the trial court's actions in setting the sheriff's salary at $18,000. See, Vanderhyde v. County of Dodge, Minn., 255 N.W.2d 39 (1977).