When it comes to total spending on “general government,” population counts. That or proximity to power does. Meanwhile, when it comes to one’s individual share of the cost burden, smaller communities shoulder a bigger burden. The numbers are all down at the Wisconsin Policy Forum’s Data Tool, with headcounts sourced through the World Population Review. “General Government” in this cost comparison covers “legislative, legal, general and financial administration,” along with “general building and plants,” per the Policy Forum—so how do the numbers break down?

In the first place, Lublin had the biggest individual share of cost burden for “general government,” at the same time that it had the least population. With an estimated 113 people total in 2018, the village in Taylor County registered a total of $257 in general government spending per citizen, which when multiplied by the total population comes out to $29,041 in general government expenses, per the latest comparative data at the Wisconsin Policy Forum.

Not to be outdone by its southern neighbor, however, Gilman with an estimated 395 people in 2018 registered a per capita government cost of $236 per person, or $93,220 total when multiplying individual share by head count. Rising above Gilman in total “general government costs but showing a lower cost per person for 2018 is Boyd, with a contribution set at $180 per person or $96,120 in total “general government” expenses, given the estimated 534 people that called Boyd home in 2018.

After Boyd in the cost projections is Cadott, with a contribution to general government expense of $73 per resident but over twice the population at 1,422 souls, for a total general government expense of $103,806 in 2018, when the head count is reconciled to the per capita contribution. Following Cadott to the north on Highway 27 is Cornell, with a per capita contribution of $117 per person and a total estimated population of 1,403 residents in 2018. Ranking after Cornell is the City of Thorp, not to be confused with the Town of Thorp which partly surrounds it—they’re separate legal entities. At any rate, the CITY of Thorp registered a total per capita “general government” cost in 2018 of $113 per resident, coming out at $182,834 when accounting for its 1,618 residents in 2018. Coming between Thorp and Cornell budget-wise is Stanley, with a caveat.

As mentioned last week, the prison is within the city limits but operates as a separate entity for budgetary purposes. Adjusting for this by subtracting 1,500 in prison capacity from the estimated 3,700 city residents for 2018, and then applying this new figure to the one at the Wisconsin Policy Forum, raises the per capita figure for general government expenses from $56 per person to $76.36 per person, with the total coming out to $168,000 when applying the latter number to a presumed 2,200 City of Stanley residents outside the prison for 2018. From being near at hand, the numbers rise substantially as the population and prominence of the place rise, with two examples to demonstrate this.

In the first place, moving due west to Chippewa Falls and the county capital sees the cost of general government rise to $808,260 total while at the same time it falls to $57 per person, on account of the 14,180 residents of the county capital. Moving further south to the state capital at Madison, meanwhile, raises this substantially.

Coming in with and estimated population of 258,054 people in 2018 and a per capita contribution of $124 to the general government fund—roughly in the middle—the total “general government spending for Madison when heads are matched to dollar amounts is $31,998,696.