City Board of Rauma to Discuss Riku Räsänen’s Extensive Request for Clarification and Special Audit on 18 May 2026
News
The City Board of Rauma will discuss, at its meeting on 18 May 2026, an extensive set of materials submitted by entrepreneur Riku Räsänen. The materials include allegations concerning the City’s administrative and official procedures and requests for investigation and special audits related to several planning and land‑use matters. It is proposed to the City Board that, when assessed as an administrative complaint, the submission does not give cause for action by the City Board.
On 11 February 2026, the City received two written submissions from Räsänen, followed later by a large number of supplementary documents and attachments. The submissions address, among other things, issues related to the outdoor swimming pool project, zoning of the Tarvontori area, the local detailed plan of Old Rauma, and the protection of the Iso-Hannu cinema building and its lighting fixtures. Some of the matters raised concern decisions made several years ago, while others relate to decisions made in more recent years.
The City has compiled and assessed the material as an administrative complaint under the Administrative Procedure Act, insofar as the City Board has competence as a supervisory authority.
Key Decisions Made by Competent Bodies and Publicly Available
The City has reviewed the matter as a whole and assessed the allegations in relation to the available decisions and documentation.
– According to the City’s assessment, the key decisions were made by the competent decision‑making bodies, and they were public or became public in accordance with the normal timetable of the decision‑making process, comments City Mayor Esko Poikela.
For example, in the case of the outdoor swimming pool project, the principle decisions, partnership agreements and lease agreements approved by the City Board and City Council show that the project’s terms, the City’s financial responsibility and the grounds for terminating the agreements were handled through public decision‑making.
Regarding the allegations related to the zoning of the Tarvontori area, the City’s assessment is based, among other things, on decisions of the planning committee and the City Board, rulings by appeal authorities, and the City’s responses submitted in those proceedings. The City states that the zoning director’s potential conflict of interest was resolved already at the early stages of the zoning process and that the matter was later also assessed by the Deputy Chancellor of Justice, without any fault being found in the procedure. In addition, the City Board had already become aware of the possible need for an HIA assessment in 2017, and there was no concealment of information from political decision‑makers.
Issues concerning the local detailed plan of Old Rauma and the lighting fixtures of the Iso-Hannu cinema are currently subject to appeal before the administrative court. The City’s position is that the local detailed plan was prepared in cooperation with the authorities supervising zoning, and that the protection decisions are based on applicable legislation and the role of zoning in the protection of the built heritage. According to the City’s assessment, the zoning provisions are appropriate and lawful.
The City emphasises that it cannot investigate its own activities without limitations. The City Board cannot act as a supervisory authority in matters directed at itself, nor can an individual official handle allegations concerning themselves due to conflict‑of‑interest provisions. In addition, the Administrative Procedure Act sets time limits within which matters examined as administrative complaints can be assessed.
– An external special audit or similar measures require a lawful basis. According to the City’s assessment, the material submitted by Riku Räsänen does not demonstrate that the allegations would give the City Board grounds to take action, Poikela states.
It is proposed to the City Board that the submission assessed as an administrative complaint does not give cause for action by the City Board.
The City Board’s decision and the public documents related to the matter will be available through the City’s official decision‑making publication channels.
