diff --git a/litellm/proxy/proxy_server.py b/litellm/proxy/proxy_server.py
index 87dd2a67e54..f7653340b44 100644
--- a/litellm/proxy/proxy_server.py
+++ b/litellm/proxy/proxy_server.py
@@ -6803,7 +6803,7 @@ class ProxyConfig:
         if not isinstance(parsed, dict) or not parsed:
             return None
 
-        stripped = {k: v for k, v in parsed.items() if v is not None}
+        stripped: Final = {k: v for k, v in parsed.items() if v is not None}  # mutable-ok: per-request parse of stored key/team settings, consumed downstream as a plain dict
         return stripped or None
 
     async def get_hierarchical_router_settings(