WASHINGTON (DC News Now) – The District Council will meet Tuesday for the first time since the arrest and indictment of councilmember Trayon White.

White was arrested in August and is accused of agreeing to accept $156,000 in bribes in exchange for his influence on city contracts for violence interruption programs. He pleaded not guilty in federal court last week.

DC Councilmember Trayon White addresses criminal accusations of bribery

“I do not have any indication of how much he intends to participate [on Council],” said chairman Phil Mendelson during a press briefing Monday.

Mendelson said the only option for stopping White’s ability to vote and participate on the council is to expel him. That’s not happening yet, but the Council does intend to take some action this week.

“A person is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt,” said Mendelson. “So that is the way we have to view our colleague, but we are moving forward with the disciplinary process that the rules provide, that requires due process.”

The Council will vote to dissolve the committee on recreation, library and youth affairs and replace it with two subcommittees under the Committee of the Whole, chaired by Councilmembers Zachary Parker and Matt Frumin.

DC Council to consider next steps regarding Trayon White

Meanwhile, an ad hoc committee charged with investigating White will meet for the first time Tuesday at 9 a.m. Outside counsel will be hired to lead that investigation.

Outside of city government, D.C.’s police union is calling for the District to pause all funding on violence interruption programs until the programs are audited and investigated.

“The Council must freeze wasteful spending on unproven, shady programs now. There is no science-based metric or data that justifies the spending of millions of dollars on these programs,” said D.C. Police Union Chairman Greggory Pemberton.

Pemberton is calling for a study to look into whether violence interruption programs have had any measurable effect on reducing crime and pushing for more funding and staffing for the Metropolitan Police Department.

DC councilmembers react to Trayon White’s arrest

Council meets for the Committee of the Whole meeting at 11 a.m.

Its legislative meeting begins at noon.

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The D.C. Council will vote to effectively take away Council member Trayon White’s committee chairmanship when it returns from summer break Tuesday.

Ward 8 Council member White pleaded not guilty last week to taking a bribe to help steer government contracts.

Now, the D.C. Council will vote on reorganizing the Committee on Recreation, Libraries and Youth Affairs – splitting it into two subcommittees overseen by other council members, leaving White without a committee chairmanship.

“That will be before the Council tomorrow as a resolution, and I’m not expecting that there will be, I don’t see much debate about that,” Council Chairman Phil Mendelson said. “I think the Council members are supportive.”

Mendelson said the Council will hire an outside law firm to conduct an independent investigation into the bribery charge and whether White actually lives in Ward 8 as required by law. White was arrested in Ward 6, where he was living according to prosecutors.

Mendelson said those findings will determine whether the Council votes to remove him or not. That investigation will take months, and any vote to remove White would not come until early next year, Mendelson said, meaning White can continue to vote on legislation in the meantime.

“However one feels about the indictment – and I certainly think the charges are very serious and damning – however one feels, the reality is that the voters elected him,” Mendelson said. “He is an elected member, and the only way to stop that is to expel him.”

“I’m relatively confident that the Council will dispose of this matter no later than the beginning of the new year,” he said.

White also will remain on the general election ballot in November.

On Monday, Mayor Muriel Bowser said she would not be endorsing any candidate in the Ward 8 race.

Tuesday morning will be the first D.C. Council meeting since White was arrested. It’s unknown if White will attend or vote on the fate of his committee chairmanship.

Here’s what federal prosecutors say Trayon White did

Federal prosecutors say White agreed starting in June to accept $156,000 in bribes in exchange for using his position to pressure government employees to extend violence intervention contracts worth $5.2 million.

He’s accused of accepting envelopes full of cash as he was caught on a hidden camera. Here’s how the FBI broke down the payments:

• June 26: $15,000 cash received
• July 17: $5,000 cash received
• July 25: $10,000 cash received
• Aug. 9: $5,000 cash received

Images included in court documents show what prosecutors say is White receiving envelopes stuffed with cash.

An FBI informant who operated businesses that contracted with the D.C. government agreed to cooperate with authorities as part of an agreement to plead guilty to bribery and bank fraud charges. Several conversations between White and the informant were recorded in a parked car wired for video and audio, including outside White’s home, prosecutors say.

At one meeting, White and the informant discussed contracts the informant had with ONSE. The informant asked White if the contracts would be renewed and said he had $15,000 cash.

Initially, White asked, “What you need me to do, man? I don’t, I don’t wanna feel like you gotta gimme something to get something. We better than that.”

Then he tucked the envelope with the cash into his jacket pocket, prosecutors say.

White is due back in court in mid November for a status hearing. A trial isn’t expected to begin until sometime next year.

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When you’re the capital of the United States, the country with the largest economy still in the world, then it is somewhat expected that you will be home to some of the wealthiest areas in the country. And this is indeed true of the District of Columbia.

Harnessing the Census Bureau’s 2023 American Community Survey, we’ve decided to take a closer look at the wealth of the ZIP codes that make up Washington, D.C. According to the Census, there are 58 ZIP codes in Washington, D.C. Interestingly, only 22 of these ZIP codes have complete data for the factors we’re assessing: 1) median household income, 2) mean (average) household income, 3) median home value, and 4) median property taxes paid. The reason: Many ZIP codes in D.C. cover tracts that are comprised solely of government buildings — hence, no information on households.

Read on to find out what the richest ZIP Code in Washington, D.C.

What Are the Richest ZIP Codes in D.C.?

In order to compile this list of the richest ZIP codes in Washington, D.C., we sourced key financial data from the Census Bureau’s 2023 American Community Survey. Wielding these datasets, we put together a four-factor scoring system to help identify the wealthiest ZIP codes in D.C.:

• Median household income
• Mean (average) household income
• Median home value
• Median property taxes paid

There are a few peculiarities that the Census Bureau does with its data. For a number of factors, the Census figures have upper limits, so there’s no exact value for certain factors. For example, for median household income, the Census Bureau has an upper limit of “$250,000+”. For median home value, the upper limit is “$2,000,000+”. For median property taxes paid, the upper limit is “$10,000+”. So, if a ZIP code has a median income higher than $250,000, the Census Bureau will say “$250,000+” for that area. For these reasons, the mean household income (which is the same as average household income) dataset is crucial because the Census Bureau has exact figures for it. All four of these metrics were scored, summed up, and then ranked by the ZIP codes’ combined scores.

You’ll find a table detailing the top 5 richest ZIP codes in Washington, D.C., and their respective dollar figures for each metric, below:

The No. 1 richest ZIP code in D.C. in this ranking is ZIP code 20015. This ZIP code covers a sizable chunk of northwestern Washington, D.C., right along the border with some of the richest cities in Maryland. Neighborhoods and Census-designated places (CDPs) like Chevy Chase and Barnaby Woods are covered by this ZIP code. There are over 6,000 total households in 20015, with the median household income being $235,511, which is the highest out of the ZIP codes in D.C. Its average household income is also the highest in Washington, D.C., at $299,348 a year. Homes are expensive, with Zillow reporting a median home value of over $1.33 million. Unsurprisingly, the property taxes homeowners pay is high, at a median of $8,157 per year.

The No. 2 richest ZIP code in D.C. is 20007, which is in the capital’s western reaches. Places like Berkley, Foxhill Village, and Georgetown (but not the university) are located in 20007. It lies along the Potomac River, with the Francis Scott Key Memorial Bridge being the one way a across. This part of D.C. has a reported median household income of $145,048. While this is noticeably less than the $235,511 for ZIP code 20015, the average household income in 20007 is $240,888, which is comparable to $299,348. In terms of home value, the median home value is almost $1.2 million. Consequently, the median property taxes paid per household is $9,070 per year.

Coming in at No. 3 on the list of the wealthiest ZIP codes in the District of Columbia is 20016. This is located in the far west of Washington, D.C., and covers places such as the Palisades, Spring Valley, Tenleytown, and Cathedral Heights. The Palisades sits astride the Potomac, across from Chain Bridge Forest and Bellevue Forest in Virginia. ZIP code 20016 is fairly large, home to 14,235 households. Here, the median household income is $169,489, while the average household income is almost $100,000 more, at $268,683 a year. The median home value in 20016 is only $100 more than the median home value in 20007. And the median property taxes paid by household is $7,755 per year.

The fourth richest ZIP code in D.C. is 20003. This ZIP code covers the middle-south of D.C., specifically the southeastern part of the city that abuts the Anacostia River right before it meets the Potomac. ZIP code 20003 covers areas like Capitol Hill, Lincoln Park, and Hill East. It is a large ZIP code, with 17,291 total households. The median household income in 20003 is $155,054. The average household income is almost $40,000 higher, at $191,871. According to the Census, the reported median home value is $925,800. Property taxes are hefty, costing a median of $5,961 per year.

The fifth richest ZIP code in Washington, D.C., is 20008, just south of the No. 1 wealthiest ZIP code, 20015. ZIP code 20008 covers places like Forest Hills, Woodley Park, and part of Cleveland Park; it is also the home of the Washington International School. With approximately 16,913 total households, 20008 is a fairly big ZIP code. The median home value is $905,900, with households paying a median of $5,060 a year in property taxes. The median household income is $123,134, but the $193,521 mean household income more than makes up for that.