The City of Braham approved of their preliminary budget for the year 2022 earlier this month and will look into potential changes to the city’s police budget.
Currently, the Braham Police budget is set to use around 43% of the city’s 2022 general funds, which is up just over 9.5% since 2017. The primary use of policing funds have been wages and benefits with vehicles coming in second.
Similar sized cities like Ada and Warroad are currently allocating around 23% of their budgets for policing. Surrounding areas like North Branch and Cambridge allocate between 30% to 35%.
The department currently has two officers looking for opportunities elsewhere, but city officials say that if they don’t move on, the city cannot afford to continue with a police department with its current budget.
City officials believe this restructure should be the city's number one concern in regards to long-term planning and budgeting. While the preliminary budget was approved, council will work to find ways to restructure with the goal being to bring the number down to somewhere around 25% which could bring back over $250,000 to the general fund.
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