Freeborn County patrol deputies, transport deputies and patrol sergeants will all receive 4 percent cost-of-living-adjustments in 2019 as part of three-year contracts unanimously approved Friday by the Freeborn County Board of Commissioners during a special meeting.

As part of the contracts, the three groups — three patrol sergeants, six transport deputies and approximately 13 patrol deputies — will receive a 0.5 percent increase in 2020, followed by a 2 percent rise in pay in 2021.

The county negotiated the contracts with the Minnesota Public Employees Association, the organization that represents the three groups.

The increases are the same county non-union employees will receive.

“It’s just part of the negotiations,” said Board Chairman Chris Shoff. “We used to do year-by-year-by-year.

“It’s fair.”

The pay increases will not increase the county’s tax levy, because they are part of the budget, Shoff said. 

The county still needs to finish contract negotiations with Department of Human Services employees represented by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees as well as detectives, detention deputies, detention sergeants, jail programmers and dispatchers.

Freeborn County Human Resources Director Candace Pesch said the county has mediation scheduled with three jail units, entered into negotiations with AFSCME and will begin negotiating with dispatchers after Tuesday because they certified with a new union and requested the county not begin negotiating until then.

“We’re pretty close on the others,” Pesch said. “It’s just a matter of those final sticking points.”

Fifth District Commissioner Mike Lee spoke highly of the contracts.

“Everybody seems to be happy, and if the rank-and-file approved it, I think everybody should be happy,” he said.

In other action, commissioners:

• Appointed law firm Barna, Guzy & Steffen to represent the county as Sheriff Kurt Freitag appeals his 2019 salary the board set earlier this month. A court hearing on the matter has not been set.

• Approved the 2018-19 aquatic invasive species plan, needed to receive grant funding from the Department of Natural Resources to combat the spread of aquatic invasive species. Administrator Thomas Jensen said the plan is similar to the previous one.