St. Cloud Mayor’s 2023 Budget Includes Money for More Police

ST. CLOUD -- St. Cloud's Mayor is planning to add more police officers to the streets next year.

Mayor Dave Kleis gave his preliminary budget proposal during Monday night's city council meeting.

He is asking for a budget of about $82.2 million in 2023 up from $79 million this year.

The budget includes a 6.1 percent increase in public safety.

Six new police officers will be budgeted in this budget.  As you recall, last year we paid for four additional.  This will take our strength to 122 officers.

The budget also includes one additional firefighter.

The budget proposal also includes an increase of 9.78 percent for the Park and Recreation Department and an 8.54 percent increase in the IT department.

Kleis says again next year the city plans to capture the growth in the tax base and keep the tax rate flat.

He says 43 percent of the city's budget comes from property taxes and 17 percent is from Local Government Aid.

The St. Cloud City Council needs to approve a final budget for 2023 in December.