DC Venue Agency and Auditor Fight Over Millions

Events DC says it has about five million dollars in extra cash for the year 2025. The city auditor disagrees. The auditor says the real amount is more than fifty million dollars. That is a difference of roughly forty-five million dollars.

Events DC runs big venues like the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. It collects money from taxes on hotel rooms, restaurant bills, and drinks. City law says the agency must return extra cash to the city's main fund. That fund pays for public services.

Washington D.C. is facing a budget shortfall. Some city programs could be cut. While this was happening, lawmakers looked at a new rule. The rule would change how Events DC calculates its savings. It would let the agency keep more money. Kathy Patterson is the city auditor. She sent a memo in September 2026. She warned the agency's leaders that the change could stop extra funds from going back to the city.

Patterson said the law is already hard to understand. She suggested that if the agency wants to keep all its revenue, it should ask the council to remove the payback rule. The original law started in 1994. It was made so the agency could run its buildings without hoarding unlimited cash. The new proposal would let the agency save up to one and a half times its yearly budget for operations and marketing.

Patterson warned the council before its November vote. It is still unclear if every part of her September memo made it into the final bill. The size of the reserve directly changes how much cash goes back to the city.