Every session of the Minnesota Legislature yields a few really bad ideas.

Among the worst of this session (so far) is Senate File 1121, a request from the League of Minnesota Cities to give cities the option to keep secret their potential budget plans until a singular plan is formally presented to the city council.

Think about what this means.

City officials — elected and professional — would be allowed to keep from the public much of the information, ideas and discussion they have in deciding how to collect and spend your tax dollars.

Essentially, the only information made public would be the final idea proposed and what went into it.

The league’s two-pronged message is undeniable:

A city’s residents should not be told of ideas — good, bad or otherwise — that were considered and why they were not ultimately proposed.

Those residents should have less of a voice, namely silence until after city officials — elected and professional — have crafted their answers.

According to a St. Paul Pioneer Press report, the league claims this approach is needed because of (what else?) tough economic times. Apparently, it believes city officials — elected and professional — would have an easier time coming up with solutions without those pesky taxpayers wanting to track how their money might be used, much less offer their opinions on such matters.

The league is a powerful legislative force, representing more than 800 cities statewide, so it’s hard to judge how much momentum this proposal might generate.

Regardless, member cities should ask themselves how their core function — doing the public’s business — can be accomplished when they are part of a league that advocates doing much of that business secretly.

— St. Cloud Times, March 5