It is a way for the government to get the funds it needs to provide general services such as roads, dams, bridges, etc.
If your local government is not doing its job, maybe it's because it has been starved of revenues. Now you have to wait for the state or the feds to get around to filling the potholes, etc.
Maybe you believe that there should be no taxes at at all. Maybe the only source of revenue for the government should be tariffs. That might make sense on the federal level, it could even maybe be made to work at the state level, but there is no way in hell for it to make sense for cities or towns to make money off tariffs.
Government is a necessary evil. It needs to be lean, but not starved to death. And personally I would rather we overfed our cities rather than our states or the feds.
Don't pay it. You'll find out who you're renting from REAL quick.
You're just another happy little slave.