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Freeborn County Attorney David Walker and Sheriff Ryan Shea on Tuesday presented recommendations for their salaries for 2025 to the county board, citing their work over the last year and salary comparisons in comparable counties, among other factors.

Walker, who is in his 32nd year working for the Freeborn County Attorney’s Office, presented salaries of similar officials in 18 comparable counties and found the average salaries to be $149,925.

He presently makes a salary of $138,000, and he recommended an increase to $150,000.

He also referenced the recent increases for public defender salaries, with assistant public defenders earning about $158,500 and chief public defenders earning between $194,000 and about $222,000.

Some of the work he oversaw during the last year included jury trials for crimes of murder, criminal sexual conduct, strangulation, burglary and criminal damage to property. He noted coordination with the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office for the two murder cases, the guilty verdict against defendant Ben Moreno and the recent guilty plea from defendant Austin Navarro.

He referenced multiple cases in the appellate courts, with multiple cases winning, as well as work on the county’s new cannabis ordinance and work regarding the county administration selection and litigation. Other areas included property tax appeals, data requests and providing legal advice in extraordinary measures.

Shea recommended a salary of $148,000, up from $137,000 for 2024.

He shared comparisons with 11 benchmark counties, which showed an average of $147,266, which was up almost 6% from the average in 2023.

Out of those counties, looking at the four counties with populations closest to Freeborn County, the average salary was $151,903.

In information he provided the commissioners recapping some of the highlights of the year, he talked about continuing public outreach through things like Coffee with the Sheriff, visits with other community groups and other programs.

He has also instituted a monthly training day to foster relationships within the Sheriff’s Office and help refine basic skills of deputies. While this brought out deficiencies, they have developed strategies to correct those deficiencies, he said.

He has come in and worked night shifts, riding along with some of the night crew in an effort to improve morale and job satisfaction, and he once a month attends a church service in the jail with the other inmates in an effort to show them that even though they are being held in the jail, staff do not see themselves as belonging to a higher status than them.

In February, he said he moved the Freeborn County main radio channel to an encrypted channel to comply with FBI standards. While there was some anxiety from the public, he said it was the right and legal thing to do, and other counties are following suit.

He has lobbied at the state Capitol and worked with legislators on impending legislation.

In June, the county saw excessive flooding and the Sheriff’s Office worked to get individual and public infrastructure assistance.

The jail received an “excellent” rating from its first ICE inspection and a high rating from a second surprise inspection. He and the jail administrator have also been working for a higher Immigration and Customs Enforcement per diem rate for detainees.

The commissioners will vote on salaries for the county attorney and sheriff in December.