The Feds were the designers and builders but the City of NO was paid to keep them up and maintain them from my understanding. The money was siphoned off for other projects continually.
New Orleans has been corrupt for 299 years and probably less corrupt now than it has ever been, but still corrupt.
The levees that failed had serious design flaws and they were maintained by the by the Feds.
The levee districts did collect tax but not for design or construction.