Freeborn County Sheriff Kurt Freitag is seeking to make the Sheriff’s Office as efficient as possible in his coming second term.

Freitag, 52, is running unopposed for the seat. He was elected sheriff in 2014 and has worked for the Freeborn County Sheriff’s Office since 1995.

Since he was hired by the Sheriff’s Office, Freitag said he has trained co-workers in Taser use, firearms, use of force and field training.

“I’ve done a lot of investigations,” he said. “Years ago, that’s where I wanted to be, in investigations. And then things changed, priorities changed, and I thought I’d run for sheriff.”

Freitag said he brings a range of leadership abilities and management to the sheriff’s position.

“I’m able to bring a very efficient way of performing duties amongst our staff,” he said. “When I’m able, I put people in the right positions … I’m not scared of making corrections either. If I put someone in a position that’s not working out, I’ll change it.

“I want every section of the Sheriff’s Office to be efficient.”

Freitag stressed the Sheriff’s Office needs to operate in a proper fashion.

“If we’re not doing things properly, we can go through the motions all day long,” he said. “It’s not going to matter. We have to do it the right way. We’ve got to work within policy. We have to work within state statute. We have to work within procedures, and that’s what I want our staff to do.

“We’ve come a long way in four years.”

To Freitag, the Sheriff’s Office now has a more capable control staff and detention center crew, and supervisors are of a higher quality and better trained, creating a trickle-down effect.

“We put a lot of time into that, because we want them to succeed,” Freitag said. “Because if they fail, we fail.”

He said if Sheriff’s Office personnel are fired, financial investments the office makes are wasted and the position is left unfilled.

To Freitag, the top issue in his second term will be continuing to perform duties professionally.

“That’s never going to change,” he said. “That’s never going to go away.”

The Sheriff’s Office plans to purchase 14 body cameras by the end of this year. The purchase is expected to cost a budgeted $36,157 and be placed on the chests of all Sheriff’s Office road staff and sergeants.

“That’s the big one on the horizon for us,” he said.

To Freitag, Sheriff’s Office investigators need to respond and do their best to complete investigations and ensure proper conclusions are reached.

“The commissioners and the people of the county entrust me with the annual budget that I’m given, and it’s my duty to spend within that budget,” he said. “It’s also my responsibility to come up with ideas to save money, create revenue, be more efficient at making money as we spend money.”

Freitag said revenue is being generated off internet jail visitation at the Freeborn County Law Enforcement Center and through the county’s ICE agreement to house inmates on detention holds. Jail inmates can text message contacts through iPads provided by the company TurnKey Solutions. Freeborn County receives a percentage of the revenue from all text messages.

Though Freitag doesn’t expect the Freeborn County jail to make money, “we can certainly offset some of our expenses.”

He called for the Sheriff’s Office to be accountable to taxpayers.

“Transparency is huge,” he said. “I want them to know what we are up to. I want them to feel comfortable in approaching us.”

Freitag said he has “thoroughly enjoyed” his first term.

“We’re truly a team,” he said. “It’s not just me that’s running the ship.”