HAYDEN — The future of Hayden city leadership took a back seat Monday when an emergency meeting was called.

The emergency executive session — closed to the public — of the Hayden City Council was held instead of the special meeting planned to discuss the process for appointing an interim mayor. Hayden has been without a mayor since Steve Griffitts resigned Feb. 24.

The emergency executive session took place at 3 p.m. The scheduled 4 p.m. meeting, in which council members were going to discuss the process for appointing an interim mayor, was postponed.

City administrator Brett Boyer said the emergency meeting and schedule change was posted to the city's website around 9 a.m. Monday.

"We didn't discuss [mayoral] process. That's not what the [emergency] meeting was about," he said. "We will gather some information and then I anticipate at the next meeting we'll put it on to talk about the process."

Because it was an executive session, city attorney Fonda Jovick said the city is "not at liberty to discuss" what was said in the meeting. City staff also did not say why it was called.

Jovick reiterated that the emergency meeting was unrelated to the interim mayoral process.

"It came to our attention we weren't quite prepared to have this special meeting to finalize the process," she said. "That, at this point, has been moved to the next general meeting. The development of the process is going to be on the agenda for the next Council meeting."

According to Idaho Open Meeting law, special meetings "shall not be held without at least a twenty-four (24) hour meeting and agenda notice, unless an emergency exists." (Idaho Code § 74-204(2).

But the Open Meeting law also says this about executive sessions:

"A twenty-four (24) hour meeting and agenda notice shall be given if only an executive session will be held. Notice must state reason and specific provision of law authorizing the executive session." (Idaho Code § 74-204(3)

Press Managing Editor Mike Patrick said he'll seek assurance from the city that Monday's emergency meeting was legal.

Regular Hayden City Council meetings are held on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month, at 5 p.m. in Hayden City Hall. The next regular meeting will be April 12.