So much doom and gloom in that article. The town in question is McKinney TX, and I grabbed their annual budget[1]. Property taxes make up 50% of their ex-services (water, sewer, trash, parks/rec, airport, etc) revenues.

And, the bonds in question will yield ~1.5% at today's rates. In other words, less than inflation. Meanwhile, McKinney has lowered property tax rates in response to higher appraisals (inflation is a major driver of increased appraisals on balance).

So, I take 2 issues with the article. First is the payback period, since property tax revenue only makes up 1/2 of the ex-services income and will increase with inflation. And second, with the idea that every area must cover its own expenses. In general commercial, high-dense and/or rich areas subsidize projects in other neighborhoods. You're going to be able to cherry-pick a project that can't be paid by its beneficiaries in every single city.

[1] https://www.mckinneytexas.org/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/22...