If the tax rates paid by old residents are enough to pay for their government services, it seems obvious that the same tax rates paid by new residents will pay for their government services. It comes out even. If so, then the fault lies with Highlands Ranch for not shopping carefully, not with the growth itself. Unfortunately, Mr. Green never mentions such details. In fact, the argument can be made that growth does pay its own way and more.
Economists call it economies of scale, and businesses take advantage of it all the time.
Bill Gates knows all about the advantage of size, as did Henry Ford, John D. Rockefeller, and all the rest. Actually, big cities do enjoy economies of scale. Denver can almost certainly get a better deal buying ten fire engines than can Highlands Ranch buying one. So in this sense, growth can pay its own way. Where he goes wrong is to blame that increasing cost on population growth.