Law firm hired to examine city hall salaries in Farmington

FARMINGTON, Minn. -- The city of Farmington has hired the law firm Ratwick, Roszak and Maloney to look into the salary structure of department heads at Farmington City Hall.

Council member Jason Bartholomay made the request to look into the salaries of department heads, "to make sure there's nothing illegal going on," during the July 2 Farmington City Council meeting. In a telephone interview, Bartholomay said he is not pointing a finger at any one department leader, but he wants to make sure the salaries paid to all department heads are justified.

Because the subject involves personnel matters, city administrator David McKnight could not comment on the investigation, other than to confirm the firm had been hired as a result of Bartholomay's request, which was supported by the rest of the city council.

Mayor Todd Larson confirmed the investigation would include examination of the department directors' salaries but was unsure if the investigation would trickle down to other city staff.

"I'm kind of curious to see what the investigation is going to come up with," Larson said.