One thing that *won't* break their piggybank is street maintenance.
Houston's surface streets are atrocious. Over the years, subsidence has made them into a lunar landscape of 4-inch dropoffs and potholes. The City public works dept. has as two remedies: asphalt patch or 1/2 in. steel plate cover. I've seen some of these plate covers in place for years.
The horrible condition of the streets tears up front-wheel drive suspensions, and is one of the reasons many Houstonians prefer pickup trucks or SUVs
Every city is like that now. These idiots spend all our money on their fanciful “development” projects and let the streets fall apart. American cities are starting to look like East Berlin.