The City Council is the highest body in the municipality, elected by the residents. The Kajaani City Council has 51 members. It is responsible for the City’s operations and finances. It is also the duty of the City Council to promote the direct participation of the municipality’s inhabitants in its activities and decision-making.
The Kajaani City Board has 11 members, each with their own personal deputy member. The Board is elected by the City Council. The Board leads the City’s operations, administration and finances and is responsible for preparing the City Council’s decisions and their implementation. There are three divisions working under the City Board: the Economic Development Division, the Employment Division and the Participation and Well-being Division.
Committees are bodies working under the City Board. Their task is to operate close to the production of services and to lead and monitor their production in the municipality.
There are five committees in Kajaani:
- the Central Election Committee,
- Education and Culture Committee,
- Audit Committee,
- Environmental Technical Committee
- and under that, the Environmental and Permits Sub-committee and the Vuolijoki Regional Committee.
The Boards of the City of Kajaani’s municipal enterprises (City of Kajaani’s Municipal Educational Enterprise, Kajaanin Mamselli, the Kajaanin Vesi municipal water management enterprise, the Vimpelinlaakso Development Enterprise) manage the operations, development and profitability of these enterprises.
Kajaani also has the councils required by the Local Government Act: the Youth Council, the Older People’s Council and the Disability Council.
Other groups that participate and exert an influence in Kajaani are the Roma People’s Working Group and the Veterans’ Advisory Committee.