From the Daily Camera (Boulder):  Lawyers for Boulder will have to explain to a judge Tuesday, Jan. 6, why the city should be allowed to hide away documents that officials cited in moving forward with a municipal energy utility.

The officials so far have not adequately been able to justify why the documents are still secret, and the court should open them to public scrutiny.

Boulder citizens in 2011 voted to allow the city to create its own municipal energy utility if the city could meet certain conditions. It had to show that it could offer rates similar to or lower than those offered by Xcel Energy, and it had to show that the utility could take in enough revenue to cover operations and certain other costs. The city developed a cash-flow model to show the utility could meet this legal hurdle, and officials have largely based their public votes to move forward with the utility on the model.

Boulder resident Patrick Murphy requested access to the model, as did Xcel. At first the city denied the request, saying documents related to the cash-flow model are protected “work product,” as if they were meant merely to inform officials’ deliberations on the utility matter. Murphy filed a lawsuit in Boulder District Court last week to challenge this response, saying the city’s claim that the cash-flow model is “work product” is contradicted by the city’s reliance on it as a key component of its decision to advance the utility.

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