The issue is that America funds cities poorly. There is a federal subsidy from cities that goes to rural areas. Red areas get more back in services than they pay in taxes, and blue areas pay out more in taxes than they get back.

So cities have to raise funding somehow.

(This is also a problem with the way America funds schools. The US needs to figure out how to distribute tax dollars more equally - or at least figure out how to keep most of the country out of poverty while still building infrastructure that keeps city housing costs down.)