Here in NJ this would be temporary trend; as the money flees the cities, the government (at county and state levels) just casts a wider net to re-direct money back into the urban sh!tholes. First productive people fled the cities, then the worst counties; now they are leaving the state altogether.
...people show common sense, vote with their feet. Better Together? No, better to sever, forever.
At least Missouri, unlike New Jersey or Maryland, has enough conservative voters outside the two big cities, to keep it light red, unlike the two deep blue East Coast hellholes.
Many years ago, the city of St Louis divorced itself from the County of St. Louis. It seemed like a good idea at the time, the city was prosperous and the county was a bunch of hicks in the sticks. Now the city is a mere shell of what it once was having lost over 60% of its population over the last 70 years. Now there is a move afoot to let the city annex the county. Several cities in the county want nothing to do with it. Obviously St Louis city wants the tax base the county represents.