D.C. To Determine What To Do With Estimated $400M Surplus

D.C. officials are weighing how to handle an expected $400 million budget surplus from the 2012 fiscal year.

D.C. Councilman Jack Evans wants any surplus should be added to the district's rainy-day fund to build its balance toward $1.6 billion. The city already has $1.2 billion in cash reserves. Adding another $400 million to the D.C. savings account would place the that account among the top 10 in the nation, if it were a state, the Washington Examiner reports.

Norton Francis, a researcher at the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Institute tells the Associated Press that $1.6 billion is a little high for normal times, unless there's a serious threat to a state's revenue. The reserve fund can help protect the city if there's a sudden downturn or cut in federal spending.