Lappajärvi residents challenge staff cuts and furloughs

Dozens of residents of Lappajärvi are seeking to overturn municipal staff furloughs and dismissals, arguing the decisions were rushed and unjustified, Yle reports.

The municipal board decided on cooperation negotiations in early autumn. The resulting measures included furloughing the entire workforce and abolishing posts, with dismissals affecting roles including carpenters, a building inspector and a leisure-time secretary.

Residents have filed four requests for reconsideration, submitted a written question and launched a citizens’ initiative. The requests concern teacher furloughs, the abolition of posts and dismissals, as well as the overall scale of the savings plan. The initiative has been signed by 168 residents and 41 other people. Lappajärvi has about 2,700 residents.

The requests argue that the municipal board exceeded its authority and that the decisions may be unlawful. One appeal, signed by about 20 residents, says the cooperation procedure did not meet the law’s purpose and that employees facing dismissal were not properly heard.

Toni Rauma, who helped prepare an appeal concerning the abolition of the leisure-time secretary’s post, said the decisions were poorly and hastily prepared, and that the dismissals came as a surprise. He said residents were protesting because the decisions appeared unjustified and their reasoning had not been made clear.

Municipal manager Juha-Matti Näykki has proposed rejecting the requests at the board’s meeting on Monday. Rauma said the appeals would then proceed to the administrative court.

Financial pressure behind the cuts

The municipality is seeking savings as it faces financial difficulties. In August, the board approved savings of just over 270,000 euros. In September, it decided on staff furloughs and dismissals, with 3.6 full-time equivalent positions to be cut.

The entire workforce is to be furloughed for two weeks, but the planned furlough for teachers was later shortened to seven days. The furloughs have begun and will continue through the end of the year.

Lappajärvi expects to post a deficit this year, as it did last year. The municipality says its accumulated surplus could be exhausted by 2030 without adjustment measures.