From GOP gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer on down, Minnesota conservatives have often singled out the Metropolitan Council as an example of bloated, busybody government. They couldn't be more wrong.

Truth is, if they'd do their homework, crusaders for thrift and effectiveness in government would discover that the Met Council should be held up as a model for other governmental units to emulate.

Over the last eight years the Met Council presided over a transportation transformation that included the opening of the region's first light-rail and commuter-rail lines (Hiawatha and Northstar); the beginning of the third line (Central Corridor light rail, linking the downtowns); the planning of Southwest light rail as the fourth; phase one of bus rapid transit on the I-35W and Cedar Avenue corridors; a near doubling of park-and-ride spaces, to almost 29,000; 100 more miles of bus shoulder lanes (the area's 292 total miles is tops in the nation); a jump from three to 197 hybrid electric buses, and a growth in transit use from 75 million rides in 2002 to an estimated 89 million rides this year.

"Transit has never been more broadly accepted, and the public has never had more transit options," Peter Bell, chairman of the Met Council, told the Star Tribune's Editorial Board. "I don't know one world-class region on the planet that doesn't have a world-class transit system."

The other major, albeit less visible, responsibility of the Met Council -- operating a wastewater system that treats 300 million gallons a day from more than 100 communities -- has been well handled, with 45 months of perfect compliance records from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.

In addition, Bell's council oversaw the addition of five new regional parks and a near doubling of regional trail miles.

Most important, the perpetual planning flashpoints over sprawl have cooled. Under Bell, the Met Council was more about railroad engineering than social engineering.

All this was accomplished -- conservatives take note -- with fiscal prudence. According to Met Council data, the council's total property tax levy has risen 8.7 percent since 2003, compared with a 54.7 percent growth for all other metro area levies and a 44.6 percent growth in national, state and local property taxes. Including its rail projects, the Met Council's budget grew 29 percent since 2003, compared with a 33.4 percent rise in state and local government spending. Excluding rail, the council's increase would have been 18.7 percent, which is an actual decline in real, inflation-adjusted spending. This has helped the Met Council retain its AAA bond rating. And remarkably, despite all the advancements, there are 86 fewer full-time equivalent council employees.

Eliminating the Met Council, as Emmer has proposed, is "not going to save any money," Bell said. "This is how government should run. Rather than disband the council, you should try to get the other municipalities to run this way."

Despite the upcoming recount, it appears unlikely that Emmer will become governor. But a new Republican legislative majority will be sworn in next January. In their well-intentioned quest to streamline state government, GOP legislators would be wise to partner with DFLers to not disband, but learn from, a good governing model.