Answer:
With revenue a problem, the town could issue bonds or obtain a mortgage.
New business lead to new sources of revenue via taxation, licensing, and fees.
A cessation of local property ties has been remarkably successful in the real world. It worked in posr-Katrina northern Mississippi.
People learn from there mistakes! So every mistake they made back then, they changed based on that mistake, they then passed that knowledge on to their kids, who then made their mistakes etc...