The sad reality of municipal politics is that the politicians who get elected are almost universally the ones that are viewed as being the "best" at begging other levels of government for more money.

Sad but that is the reality of things.  Just watch any municipal election debates, particularly for any city other than Toronto (where you at least get some different political opinions represented).  While they all have a few ideas about some minor things, almost all will note as part of their platform what they think the best means of begging other governments for more money.