Durham Constabulary will receive a £0.4m reduction in Government funding next year.
Police and Crime Commissioner Ron Hogg will be allocated £85.8m in 2016/17 to fund the force, which was deemed 'outstanding' at managing its resources in the last independent inspection.
Ron said: “Whilst this is better than expected it still means that we will see fewer officers and staff than we currently have.
“Not only are we having to pay for a nationally agreed pay award, which is welcome news for officers and staff, but we are also having to pay an extra £1.5m per year from next April to the Government towards the cost of increases in state pensions.
“Durham is at the pinnacle of policing and I would like to think that it will remain there despite a small reduction in Government funding.
“We are still committed to working with our partners to collaborate wherever possible to ensure money is spent wisely.
“I am pleased that the Chief Constable is continuing to make efficiencies where possible by challenging non-pay budgets and stripping out vacant posts where these are no longer needed so that we can both continue to focus on our priority areas.”
Chief Constable Mike Barton said: “We have been planning for the worst and hoping for the best.
“This gives us a platform to build upon which I think is good news for the public and bad news for the criminals.
“Rest assured that we will be able to continue providing high quality services, not just to the victims of crime but to others who need us.
“That said, we still face the prospect of a further reduction from April 2017 because of changes in the way the Government allocates funding.
“We will be working with the Home Office to ensure any adverse impact is minimised in Durham.”
