Brainerd council, public utilities commission come to financial agreement

BRAINERD — A revised agreement is in place for Brainerd Public Utilities’ financial contribution to the city. City Council members approved the agreement during their meeting on Nov. 2. The topic has been a discussion item since last year, when changes were proposed to the payment in lieu of taxes policy, which allows municipalities to collect funds from utility departments, as those departments are exempt from paying taxes for essential services. The policy the city enacted no replaces that program. BPU previously made these contributions on a per-kilowatt-hour usage basis, but declining energy consumption led to a change last year. At that time, both the council and the BPU Commission agreed to a payment equal to 3% of all utility revenue as the 2026 contributions. Council members hoped for an increasing scale, with that percentage rising to 4% in 2027 and 5% in 2028.

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