Households across Merseyside will pay 5% more in council tax bills to fund more police officer posts.
Merseyside Police Authority (MPA) said the above-inflation rise was needed to offset a "disappointing" settlement from the government.
It awarded the authority a 2.6% grant increase, which it said was below the England average for forces.
The 2009/10 police budget will mean an extra ?4.47 a year on council tax bills for band A properties.
More officers
An extra 79 operational police officers will be deployed in the coming year because of the extra cash, MPA said.
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The 32 new officers and 47 redeployed from office functions will mainly become firearms or schools officers.
Councillor Bill Weightman, MPA chair, said balancing the budget - which in recent years has had a ?12m deficit - took a great deal of hard work.
"This budget has identified a number of savings that will address existing budgetary pressures but will allow investment in new posts, which is quite an achievement in the current climate," he added.
BBC Liverpool
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