As thrilled as most Minnesotans will be to see state parks, state offices and state government reopen, we don’t have to be as happy about the very closed way it came about.

Disappointingly, most of the meetings and talks to finalize bills and to bring an end to the longest government shutdown in state history were held behind closed doors. Much of the negotiating since Friday has happened out of public view in secret, private sessions and inside a closed State Capitol building.

By the time Gov. Mark Dayton announced the Capitol would reopen Tuesday — “to allow public access and transparency,” he said — the notion of an open and transparent budget process was rightly under attack.

“Pretty pathetic,” Rep. Ryan Winkler, DFL-Golden Valley, said in a Minneapolis Star Tribune report.

“Very frustrating,” added Republican National Committee member Pat Anderson, making the criticism bipartisan.

Minnesota law requires legislative meetings to be open to the public. The statute states that, “A meeting occurs when a quorum is present and action is taken regarding a matter within the jurisdiction of the body.” The meetings since Friday haven’t involved formal committees, meaning it’s difficult, if not impossible, to know for sure whether the meetings have been legal.

In compliance with the letter of the law or not, the secret sessions have at least been an affront to the spirit of Minnesota’s open-meeting laws and to statutes meant to guarantee the public’s business be conducted in public — as it should be.

“They’re probably violating their own statute, but they’re the only ones that can slap themselves on the wrist and (they) don’t appear to (care),” said Paul Hannah, an attorney specializing in public access and open-government laws. “It’s pretty much whatever they say goes.”

Which isn’t the way government is supposed to operate, not at any level.

The secrecy fuels speculation about what may have been slipped into the hurry-up-and-get-’em-done budget bills — or what may have been left out, whether by the legislative majority Republican Party or by the administration of DFL Gov. Mark Dayton. The prospect of shenanigans makes it all that much more critical our lawmakers scour the bills. It’s on our elected leaders to make sure the measures, whether the result of a compromise or not, are in the best interest of all Minnesotans and aren’t just a benefit to special interests or the warring political parties.

“Bad government” is what Rep. Mindy Greiling, DFL-Roseville, called the budget process since Friday.

Minnesotans deserve better.