The buffs have been the #1 bone of contention for years.
The idea of limiting the buffs would ultimately be counterproductive to the system as a whole, further eroding what few hard-coded RP opportunities exist while pissing players off.
The reason for this is multifold. One part is that a few buffs allow suits to be built around a "temporary" stat increase* which the player doesn't really have to
earn in any meaningful way (i.e. most players don't contribute to city coffers). The negative aspect to RP is that a character's home/favorite/etc city isn't sponsoring a buff which benefits their playstyle. (* such as the desireable FC 1 and +5 SSI)
EX: You play an archer who has an affinity for Skara Brae. The current SB buff is +5 SDI...not useful to you.
You would benefit more from +5 SSI or HCI. Do you switch loyalty to another city for a buff which benefits you, or do you remain loyal to your city and not partake of a buff?
This also brings up the question of
how is the buff selection made to begin with? Is it a governor's unilateral decision, or the result of a ballot box (with only a binary choice

)? From personal experience, most players
ignore a governor-placed ballot box, making the vote less than representative (we're lucky to get 5 votes).
The best option to remedy the situation is to completely restructure the buff system and remove it from a governor's whims. Allow citizens to
choose their own buff as they desire as long as there is X amount of gold in the city treasury, with each use of the buff charging a small amount of gold (10-50K per use, 24-hour duration, no cooldown). Everyone gets what they want and the city has a continual revenue stream from those who use the buffs. The one caveat I'd include is that the city
must have a governor for a buff to be available.
The current system doesn't encourage "loyalty" by any definition of the word.