The county is not paying for the roads in the new areas, the county is rebuilding/expanding their own roads. The tax increase is because the county had poor planning for future needs.
The developer builds the roads in the areas they are developing and then turns them over to the county - per the last independent audit of the county the developer turned over $39 million worth of roads to the county.
The bonds only cover specific assets - roads, water and sewer, sidewalks, street lights etc. It does not cover landscaping or recreation facilities, they remain property of the developer. The developer has periodically sold the amenities to the homeowners.
The higher bond costs is most likely due to higher construction costs.
And other posters are correct - not every county uses bonds, and you some states don't allow it. You may be familiar with TIF funding - Taxable Incremental Financing - that some states use, it is similar to these bonds.
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