Human error forces Kainuu regional council to reconvene

A procedural error during a public meeting has forced the Kainuu regional council to reconvene, as the doors to the meeting venue locked prematurely, violating public access rules.

The council, part of the Kainuu wellbeing services region, had approved a restructuring programme on 8 June. That decision must now be revisited to allow the region to apply for an extension to cover a €24 million deficit, council chair Miikka Kortelainen told Yle.

Kortelainen has called an extraordinary meeting for 22 June at 18:00 after it emerged that the electronic locks on the Kajaani city hall doors engaged at 16:00, while the session continued for hours. Any decisions made after 16:00 are now invalid.

“A regrettable situation caused by human error,” Kortelainen said. “No one noticed during the meeting—not me as chair, not the councillors who left after 16:00 and passed through the locked doors, nor anyone else present.”

The restructuring programme, passed 30–28 after lengthy debate, is a prerequisite for the region’s deficit-repayment application. Kortelainen urged councillors to respect the original decision but acknowledged each member’s right to vote as they see fit.

While rare, such errors are not unprecedented. In December 2024, Kuhmo city council had to redo a meeting due to a procedural mistake in summoning alternate members.

Kortelainen said the region would learn from the incident and that he would personally verify door access at the start, during, and after future meetings.