A Comparative Study of the Expense of Spin

An apolitical reflection, as today is apolitical by statute. The following OECD municipalities are rough equivalents of Barcelona (1.62 million) in terms of population:

Hamburg: 1.8 million
Philadelphia: 1.55 million
Montreal: 1.62 million
Vienna: 1.7 million
Budapest: 1.7 million

Four of the five examples are in distinctly richer countries. Logically, Barcelona's spending on communication--much of it spin, advertising, posters, freesheets: propaganda--should be equivalent to or lower than its analogues.

How much does Barcelona spend on communication? The relevant items from the 2011 budget read as follows,

To items 92502 and 92503 one must add a further expenditure classified as an unclassifiable expense, i.e.

The sum total of 92502, 92503 and 22602 is 31,729,211 euros, equivalent to the starting salary of 1322 nursery school teachers working for the City. 

How does this compare with the OECD city whose population comes closest to matching Barcelona's? Here are the figures for Montreal:

In euros, that's 3,128,812--less than 10% of the figure for Barcelona. Last time I was there, the snow ploughs made their rounds, the sidewalks were clear, the buses running, the bagels delicious (in both languages). Montreal is a mature democratic polity. What is Barcelona?