The Metropolitan Council was created 50 years ago by Republican-controlled state government. That history adds a dash of irony to the efforts by Republican legislators this session to re-engineer the Met Council into a planning agency and regional services coordinator far different — and, we fear, less effective — than has existed since 1967.
Embedded in the transportation funding measure that Gov. Mark Dayton vetoed Monday and also moving separately in the GOP-controlled Legislature are bills that would enlarge the council from 16 to 28 members and alter its composition, shifting power away from state government and toward local governments, particularly the five suburban counties. That’s a drastic change that the DFL governor says goes too far. We concur, and urge Dayton to employ as many vetoes as necessary to block an overhaul that appears unlikely to improve public planning and services in the seven-county Twin Cities region.