I have a question about "squalor"

[Theedave]

I would like to know if there are ways to get rid of squalor in a city other than building sewers & other buildings such as it. I have built all the cleansing buildings in my cities, however the squalor level is still very high.

Thanks
Dave

[Poulp']

hi

first of all, there's no way to reduce squalor; it is hard coded and proportional to your population
you can only counter it, by building sewers, temple of health and the like.
Farms do not counter squalor but increase population growth (the result is the same)

To answer your second question, negative income doesn't mean your city is making less money, it just means your city is paying a bigger share of your army's upkeep than lower-populated cities.

Check your financial windows to see if you're really losing money.
If you do, try disbanding useless units and invest into trade buildings (ports #1, roads and markets...)
Put your best governor in key cities, where you can turn them into money makers.
Or you can sack a neighbouring city if you feel like it.

hope I answered to your questions

and have a look at the ludus magna to understand the game's mechanics.