On July 12th, Executive Director Yesim Taylor was quoted by WAMU in “No, WalletHub: D.C. Is Not The Worst-Run City In The U.S. (And Comparing It To Other Cities Is Hard.)“:
“One of the reasons the District always looks bad is because we’re both a city and a state. Most cities don’t do welfare, but focus on what’s considered local services: police, education, garbage collection, so not that many services,” said Yesim Sayin Taylor, the executive director of the D.C. Policy Center and a former staff member of the D.C. Office of the Chief Financial Officer. D.C., however, is a city that also carries out county- and state-level functions.
“Our portfolio is very broad. This is why the city’s per-capita spending is very high. It’s really important to keep that in mind,” Taylor said.
The D.C. Council recently approved a $13.8 billion budget for 2018. If that amount is divided by the city’s population — 681,170 as of the end of 2016 — it looks like the city spends $20,259 per person. That’s high.
But, as Taylor points out, you have to subtract the $3.3 billion D.C. is taking in from the federal government for Medicaid and other federal grants. Across the country, that money is handled at the state level, but since D.C. isn’t a state, the funds get wrapped into the city’s annual budget. Without the $3.3 billion factored in, per-capita spending drops to $15,644 per person.
You can read the full article here.