Daily Camera (Boulder): In a discussion scheduled at the last minute and without notice to the public, the Boulder City Council decided Monday night against allowing two of its members to phone in to a closed-door executive session.

The discussion was prompted by requests for phone-in access by councilmen Matt Appelbaum, who is on vacation in New Zealand, and Sam Weaver, who City Attorney Tom Carr said was out sick.

Appelbaum and Weaver have been closely involved for years with the matter reviewed during the executive session in question: Boulder’s ongoing bid to separate from Xcel Energy and form a municipal electric utility, which could end in a settlement between the two sides.

The council does not allow its members to call into its regular meetings or study sessions, and also has not allowed members to call into executive sessions. It also has struggled, though, to find meeting times that work for all nine council members.

Allowing Appelbaum and Weaver to call in Monday “sets a really poor precedent,” Councilwoman Lisa Morzel argued.

Visit Daily Camera for more.