A court date has been set in the salary appeal case filed by Freeborn County Sheriff Bob Kindler.

The hearing is slated for 1 p.m. Feb. 24 at the Freeborn County Courthouse.

Kindler is appealing his $75,000 salary for 2011 the Freeborn County Board of Commissioners set in December, a month and a half after he had been elected.

That pay rate represents a 9.25 percent reduction from Kindler’s base salary for 2010, when he was the detective supervisor in the Sheriff’s Office and an overall salary reduction of more than 15 percent when overtime is added.

As a detective supervisor, Kindler was an hourly employee, making $39.39 per hour with a yearly base wage before overtime of $81,931. Had he stayed in that position, his 2011 rate of pay would have been $40.17 per hour, or $83,570 for the year. He has worked in the Sheriff’s Office for 24 years.

In 2010, Sheriff Mark Harig had a salary of $82,500.

A minimum salary of $62,000 was set in January 2010, so people considering running for the office had an idea of what salary to expect.

A prepared statement dated Dec. 27 from Kindler said, “The salary was arbitrary, capricious, oppressive or without sufficiently taking into account the extent of the responsibilities and duties of the office and experience, qualifications and performance.”

Although county board members are making no public statements while the case is pending, Freeborn County Administrator John Kluever said commissioners discussed Kindler’s education, experience, responsibilities of the position and past accomplishments during a public workshop prior to setting the salary. He said sheriff’s salaries in other counties in southern Minnesota, and around the state, were also taken into consideration.

In a previous statement, Freeborn County District 4 Commissioner Christopher Shoff had added a historical precedent was also considered, pointing out that when previous Harig took over the position from his predecessor Don Nolander, Harig didn’t automatically take over that salary.

Mower County District Court Judge Donald E. Rysavy has been assigned to preside over the hearing, after Freeborn County District Court Judges Steven Schwab and John Chesterman formally recused themselves from the case.

Scott Lepak of Barney, Guzy & Steffen is acting as legal counsel for the county board.