In Kotka, decisions are made in good spirit

19.3.2025 | Kotka’s decision-makers highlight the collaborative decision-making atmosphere as a key success of the past council term.

This is evident from a recent survey conducted among members of Kotka City Council, the City Board, and various committees and subcommittees regarding the 2021–2025 council term.

The survey was sent to approximately 100 decision-makers, of whom 60 responded. Of the respondents, 85 percent were either very satisfied (11.7%) or satisfied (73.3%) with the overall experience of the council term.

The responses strongly emphasized a positive atmosphere and especially the cooperation between council members. Several comments noted that “it was the issues that clashed, not the people” and that “it was always nice to attend council meetings, which says a lot.”

Additionally, the successful work of the City Council and City Board chairs received praise, as did collaboration between officials and decision-makers, progress on major strategic goals, improvements in Kotka’s reputation, financial balancing efforts, and the development of citizen participation.

When asked about perceived failures during the council term, the most common response was that “no failures come to mind.”

However, some individual responses called for improvements in managing large investment projects and ensuring decision-makers receive sufficient information—suggesting, for example, more briefings or evening sessions.

There was also criticism regarding excessive time pressure in decision-making, such as when approving the budget, as well as concerns over the limited number of issues discussed at council meetings and reflections on the role of the Vitality Committee.

High Satisfaction Levels

Regarding the performance of the chairperson in their respective body, 81.6 percent of respondents were either very satisfied or satisfied.

80 percent of respondents were very satisfied or satisfied with cooperation among decision-makers, while 88.3 percent expressed the same level of satisfaction with collaboration between decision-makers and city officials.

Respondents were also fairly satisfied with the cooperation between decision-makers and citizens, with 65 percent indicating they were either very satisfied or satisfied.

However, open responses in the survey particularly highlighted the need for increased dialogue between decision-makers and residents.

Kotka’s decision-makers are generally satisfied with the quality of preparatory work across different governing bodies, but some suggested improvements, such as providing more advance information on major upcoming decisions to allow sufficient time for review.

Additionally, there were requests for summaries of lengthy reports and clearer assessments of different decision options to better inform decision-makers.