City government · Crow Wing County, MN

Brainerd's money: where it comes from and where it goes

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended December 31, 2023), Brainerd took in $72.1 million and spent $78.3 million.

Latest recorded year: ended December 31, 2023Comes fromGoes to

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Where it comes from

Fees for services (electric power, housing)55%Federal tax money17%City taxes12%State tax money11%Fines and other3.3%County and local tax money0.9%

What stands out

17%

of Brainerd's money comes from federal tax money.A typical U.S. city of 10,000 to 50,000 people gets 1.2%.

City taxes12%

Property tax
9.2%$6.7 million
Sales tax
2.0%$1.5 million
Other taxes
0.7%$513 thousand
What's in other taxesOther licenses; public utility taxes and 1 more
  • Other licenses$359 thousand
  • Public utility taxes$116 thousand
  • Other selective sales taxes$38 thousand

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services55%

Fees for services
55%$39.8 million
What's in fees for servicesElectric power; housing and 7 more
  • Electric power$33.1 million
  • Housing$2.4 million
  • Sewer$1.3 million
  • Other service charges$1.2 million
  • Airport$774 thousand
  • Road charges$592 thousand
  • Parks and recreation$145 thousand
  • Transit fares$132 thousand
  • Garbage collection$101 thousand

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

Federal tax money17%

Grants from Washington, paid for by the federal taxes residents also pay.

From the federal government
17%$12.4 million

State tax money11%

Money the state passes on, paid for by the state taxes residents also pay.

From the state
11%$8.3 million

County and local tax money0.9%

Money passed on by the county or other local governments.

From the county and other local governments
0.9%$661 thousand

Fines and other3.3%

Interest, rents and other
3.1%$2.2 million
Fines
0.2%$139 thousand

Where it goes

Water, sewer, trash and utilities50%Roads, transit and parking23%Police, fire, courts and jails8.2%Running the government and other costs7.7%Housing and community development7.2%All other spending3.7%

What stands out

50%

of Brainerd's spending goes to water, sewer, trash and other utilities.A typical U.S. city of 10,000 to 50,000 people spends 24%.

Spending by category100%

Water, sewer, trash and utilities
50%$39.5 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesElectric power; sewer systems and 1 more
  • Electric power$38.7 million
  • Sewer systems$811 thousand
  • Garbage and solid waste$2 thousand
Roads, transit and parking
23%$17.8 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways; airports and 1 more
  • Roads and highways$8.3 million
  • Airports$8.1 million
  • Public transit$1.5 million
Police, fire, courts and jails
8.2%$6.5 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice and fire protection
  • Police$5.3 million
  • Fire protection$1.2 million
Running the government and other costs
7.7%$6.0 million
What's in running the government and other costsOther and not broken out; finance, tax collection and budgeting and 1 more
  • Other and not broken out$5.1 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$782 thousand
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$152 thousand
Housing and community development
7.2%$5.7 million
Parks, recreation and libraries
2.4%$1.9 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation and libraries
  • Parks and recreation$1.7 million
  • Libraries$154 thousand
Interest on debt
1.3%$999 thousand
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

City of Brainerd. U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, individual unit file, fiscal year ended December 31, 2023.

What this covers. The money of City of Brainerd itself. Other governments that serve the same area (the city, county, school district and state) are separate and not included. Borrowing, transfers between a government's own funds, and pension trust funds are not counted as revenue.