If the governor signs this legislation, the immediate impact will be felt in Bandon, North Bend, and Reedsport.   City councils will gain unilateral authority to set utility rates without voter approval. The longer-term consequences may include higher utility costs, decreased transparency in rate-setting processes, and further erosion of direct democratic participation in a local government's decision-making authority.

Understanding Tax Increment Financing is understanding how the shell game works. And, once you see it, you cannot unsee it. The question is whether enough taxpayers and the newly elected board members of the North Bend School District will educate themselves to fight back, like the former members of the North Bend School District did.