Editorial: Gains on land deals not worth the price

Monday, Jan. 27, 2003 | 8:35 a.m.

Nevada is ahead of many states when it comes to open government, and it should stay that way. The Mesquite City Council, however, wants to weaken the open meeting law by allowing elected officials to discuss land deals in private. Its reasoning sounds logical -- the price of land can be affected by publicity. If a person with land to sell hears that the government is a potential buyer, it's a safe bet the price will go up. And a person seeking to buy public property could learn during an open meeting how much a government would accept, when perhaps he had been willing to offer more.

Mesquite City Manager Bryan Montgomery justifies the council's position, saying its members are simply trying to protect taxpayers' money. But we've heard this justification before in other states and have seen the consequences. Once the public is shut out of public business for any reason, a culture of secrecy begins forming and eventually it pervades other public decisions.

Mesquite Mayor Charles Horne, who is not a voting member of the council, shares our view. "In dealing with public assets and public officials, business should be conducted in the open," Horne said. Nevertheless, Mesquite is pressing the issue through the Nevada League of Cities and the 2003 Legislature will be asked to decide. We hope this never gets out of committee. Because the public is heavily affected by a government's purchase or sale of land, it has the right to participate in all conversations leading up to the transaction. While it's true that secret meetings might lead to saving a few dollars from time to time, open government is priceless.