How Brandon is run
Who runs Brandon, what it costs, and where your money goes
The city manager, council pay, the budget, your property tax bill and who provides each service, from Brandon's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 11, 2026.
Who runs Brandon
The elected mayor heads the city government and appoints its top administrator and department heads. The council passes laws, adopts the budget and sets the tax rate.
What they are paid
Brandon city staff
The city publishes every employee's 2026 salary or hourly wage by name in its January salary resolution. The budget does not state a total head count. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Brandon in the red?
Cities must pass a balanced budget, so "profit" and "deficit" mean something different here. The useful questions: does the city's everyday money (the general fund) cover its everyday costs, how much does it keep in savings compared with its own target, and how big are its pension and debt bills.
Savings against the city's own target
Unassigned general fund balance: $13.2M (2025-12-31). The city's own target: The city has no formal minimum fund balance policy. City of Brandon · Jul 1, 2026
Why we skip the "budgeted deficit": many cities plan to dip into savings, then spend less than planned. The audited result tells you what really happened.
Where the money comes from and goes
The general fund only: the city's everyday money for FY2026 adopted.
Comes from
- Taxes (sales and property)$9.6M · 41%
- Bond proceeds for a new city hall$6.4M · 27%
- Use of unassigned fund balance$4.9M · 21%
- Transfers in from water, sewer and other funds$994,096 · 4%
- State and federal aid$714,107 · 3%
- Charges for services$337,080 · 1%
- Licenses and permits$235,542 · 1%
- Other$118,000 · 1%
Goes to (FY2026 adopted)
- General government (includes $6.4M city hall building)$7.9M · 34%
- Debt payments and transfers to street projects$7.5M · 32%
- Public safety (police, fire contract, inspections)$3.4M · 15%
- Parks, pool and recreation$2.5M · 11%
- Public works (streets, transit)$1.5M · 6%
- Other$419,889 · 2%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
Minnehaha County collects the property tax and passes each share on. The city's levy goes to the general fund, which pays for police, fire, streets, snow removal, parks and the pool. The school district gets more than half of the bill.
22¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Brandon
- Brandon Valley School District7.344 · 54%
- Minnehaha County2.97 · 22%
- City of Brandon2.956 · 22%
- Library levy0.256 · 2%
- Fire protection0.117 · <1%
- East Dakota Water Development District0.02 · <1%
- Total ($ per $1,000 of taxable value)13.663
Taxes payable in 2025 for an owner-occupied home in Brandon (Minnehaha County). City of Brandon
Who provides your services
Not everything in Brandon is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityBrandon Police DepartmentCity of Brandon
- FireContractorBrandon Volunteer Fire Department (under contract)Separate from the cityCity of Brandon
- 911 dispatchAnother agencyMetro CommunicationsCity of Brandon
- WaterThe cityCity of BrandonCity of Brandon
- SewerThe cityCity of BrandonCity of Brandon
- Electricity and natural gasPrivate companyPrivate companiesCity of Brandon
- StreetsThe cityCity of Brandon Public WorksCity of Brandon · Jul 1, 2026
- ParksThe cityCity of Brandon Parks DepartmentCity of Brandon · Jul 1, 2026
- Golf courseThe cityCity of Brandon (Golf Course Fund)City of Brandon · Jul 1, 2026
- LibraryAnother agencyBrandon and Sioux Falls city libraries, funded by a library levyResidents may use any of the libraries for freeCity of Brandon
Compared with other cities
Cities in other states, so read this for scale, not as a ranking. Comparisons with similar cities in the same state come as we cover more of them.
| Per city | CrowleyLA | BrandonSD | Cocoa BeachFL | WestwoodNJ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 11,223 | 11,306 | 11,361 | 11,365 |
| Top administrator's base pay | Not confirmed | $172,349 | $189,900 | Not confirmed |
| Council member pay | $10,455 | $6,576 | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| General fund per resident | $1,284 | $2,059 | $3,974 | $2,038 |
| Debt per resident | $1,873 | $4,747 | $3,020 | $967 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $753 | $-1 | $727 | $1,298 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | — | — | 25.1 | — |
Figures as shown in each city's section, divided by its population. Years differ by state, and pension figures are measured differently in each state (each city page says how). Brandon pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Brandon publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Yes: Adopted budget posted online City of Brandon · Sep 15, 2025
- No: City manager's contract findable onlineWe found no City Administrator contract online. His yearly salary is set in the council's annual salary resolution. City of Brandon
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member onlineCouncil minutes list roll call votes by name, e.g. the 6-0 vote passing the 2027 budget ordinance. City of Brandon · Sep 21, 2026
- Yes: Meeting videos and minutes online City of Brandon
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public documentResolution #01-26 sets the mayor's pay at $10,692 and each council member's at $6,576 a year. City of Brandon · Jan 5, 2026
Questions to ask your council
- The general fund held $13.2M of unassigned fund balance at December 31, 2025, and the city has no formal minimum reserve policy. What level of reserves does the council aim to keep?
- The 2025 audit found spending above the budget in three general fund areas. What steps will make sure supplemental budgets are adopted when needed?
- The city owed $53.7M in bonds and state loans at the end of 2025. How much of the 2026 sales tax revenue goes to debt payments?
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