I'm sure that was part of it, but after getting my first available upgrade, I could no longer select Department of Utilities, it had a "not approved" across it for some reason. I ended up restarting the two because I couldn't get the ridiculous ground pollution under control. (If anyone knows a way to undo ground pollution, I would love to know for future reference).
I am more carefully planing my City Hall in the future. My new City has been much smoother.