[rayiner]

That might be true generally (and cities like New York and DC have really high per capita spending for that reason), but Baltimore is quite a bit less expensive than the surrounding suburbs. You can buy a gorgeously renovated townhouse in a nice neighborhood for $400-500k, a fraction of what it would cost in Montgomery County.

[panzagl]

That has little to do with how expensive it is to maintain a building, especially a government building.