A resident in conflict with the municipality exposed an official’s lack of education

The mess led a person to a two-year dispute for his rights, among other things, it turned out that an incompetent official works in the municipality. Photo: Evelin Sammel/Virumaa Teataja

• The rural municipality closed the road used by the resident to reach her property.
• The official who made the decision lacks training in construction.
• A construction specialist does not need specialist training, says the municipality head.

A resident of Haljala municipality appealed to the local government because the road she used to reach her properties was in a bad condition. Some time later, the municipality repaired the road, but then closed it with signs forbidding entry. A two-year struggle for the rights began, which revealed the incompetence of one official.

In September 2020, Kairi (name changed), a resident of Haljala parish, requested that the local government should repair the Rännaku road in Koljaku village, Haljala municipality, because the road culvert had sunk. It should be mentioned that at that time the local government headed by Ivar Lilleberg was in power. The letter remained unanswered. Kairi wrote again in April but received no response either this time. In July 2021, Kairi appealed to a lawyer for help, hoping to get some answer about the road repair. In August, the local government sent Tiit Jõgi, a municipal construction specialist, who carried out an on-site inspection and the road culvert was repaired. A few months later, however, the road was closed with no-entry signs without any advance warning. Kairi's family could not even use the driveway of their home. The municipality did not include them either in the discussion or the hearing.

When Kairi asked the municipality why the no-entry signs were installed, the local government replied that the road was impassable and they lack the money for repairing it. In addition, the municipality found that the residents could reach their properties through the RMK forest where an access road had spontaneously developed over time. «You could use this access as long as the Rännaku road culvert was in a bad repair, so keep on using it,» Lilleberg told Kairi.

However, the law stipulates that access to every property must be guaranteed through an official road or access must be provided with an easement (an easement or a burden on an immovable property that obliges the owner to allow someone else to do something on the immovable property or to use the immovable property for some purpose).

In January 2022, Kairi wanted to challenge the decision of banning traffic on the road. The municipality did not satisfy the objection and the arguments remained the same – they do not have the money to repair the road and the residents can go alternative routes. In February 2022, the new mayor of the municipality, Anti Puusepp, took over, but the dispute over the road continued.

«What began after we went to court was humiliating,» said Kairi. It should be mentioned here that Kairi's property runs along Rännaku road for more than 200 meters. Back in 2008 it was planned to build a house on the property. The project was left unfinished at the time, but it was decided to continue with it this year. «We had the opportunity to proceed with the construction. We submitted a document to the court, which states that the only access to the building under construction can be through the Rännaku road, and therefore it is essential to remove the signs,» Kairi said. This means that while it was possible to access the properties at one end of Rännaku road through the RMK forest, according to the municipality, the roadside property could only be accessed by Rännaku road.

Tiit Jõgi, the municipal construction specialist, called Kairi and declared that the construction permit was not valid. When the her lawyer inquired on which grounds it was no longer valid, Jõgi stated that construction could not be continued because it had never been started on the property and the building permit was invalid. However, the law valid at that time stipulates that a building permit cannot expire over time.

Kairi presented an employment contract of 2008 to the municipality, which stated that construction activities had begun. More specifically, the construction site was cleaned, the foundation outlines were marked, stumps were uprooted and hauled away. Yet the municipality's construction specialist claimed that these activities cannot be considered as construction.

The official lacks the necessary education

When Kairi's lawyer asked the municipality what was the competence of the construction specialist Tiit Jõgi to make such decisions, the current head of the local government, Anti Puusepp, remained tight-lipped and refused to provide the relevant information. «The website of the municipality describes Tiit Jõgi's education as «police, lawyer», but he deals with construction-related issues in the municipality,» said Kairi. The job description of the municipality of Haljala stipulates that the municipality's construction specialist must have a higher education, but it is only recommended that it be in the field of construction.

Although the mayor of Haljala municipality Anti Puusepp initially did not want to release information about Jõgi's education to Postimees, it was eventually revealed that Jõgi had attended the Academy of Security Sciences. The website of the Academy of Security Sciences states that it does not train construction specialists or construction supervision officials.

When asked if or where Jõgi acquired his construction-related education, Puusepp answered that he had not studied to be a construction specialist, but according to modern practice municipal officials often hold posts for which they have no formal training and he does not see it as a problem. «Jõgi has extensive experience and legal education. This problem has been raised deliberately here. A construction specialist does not have to be able to prepare construction projects,» said the mayor of the municipality.

As for construction supervision, according to the mayor, Jõgi can handle it because the problems are mostly legal. «He has been carrying out supervision for years. When someone began to build something, he went to check it.»

When asked how a person with a law degree can be competent to carry out on-site inspection and construction supervision, the mayor said that the task of supervision is to determine whether the building corresponds to the project, and this requires knowledge of laws which Jõgi possesses.

«Generally, anyone can read these projects. He (Tiit Jõgi) is the one who checks whether you use the right materials, whether things are done correctly according to the documents, whether the measurements are correct. This is no rocket science,» said Anti Puusepp and added that there is no question about Jõgi’s adequate education.

Mikk Mänd, a vocational teacher at the Tallinn Construction School, said that there is no such thing as a construction specialist. «We have different professions, such as carpenters or masons, but there is no construction specialist as such,» said Mänd. When asked whether it is possible to carry out construction supervision with a law degree, Mänd replied that it is not. «Construction supervision requires sixth-level specialty, or higher education in construction. Construction supervision cannot be performed by a person without the relevant education, not even a vocational school graduate. It requires specialized higher education, which can be acquired at Tallinn University of Applied Sciences and Tallinn University of Technology.»

«A person may know the laws, but he certainly does not know technical solutions, for example, how the roof underlay is installed and why it is done that way. Construction supervision means being competent to decide whether a building has been constructed correctly,» Mänd explained.

When entering Tiit Jõgi's name in the professional register, it turns out that he does not have a construction professional’s certificate. Tiit Jõgi directed the journalist to the municipality head for answers.

More complex decisions are reviewed collectively

The mayor admitted that Jõgi does not really have a sixth-level higher education in construction. When asked how the municipality and its residents can be sure that Jõgi's decisions are competent, the mayor answered that the more complicated cases are reviewed collectively. A few weeks after Kairi contacted Postimees and the journalist in turn contacted Haljala municipality, it became clear that the signs will be taken down and Kairi can continue her construction. How did it happen?

«As for the road signs, we went to the site again and also met with Kairi and reviewed the matter once more. Since the circumstances which existed before had now disappeared, we decided to take down the signs,» explained mayor Puusepp. The mayor was willing to explain the circumstances in more detail only off-the-record, i.e. unofficially.

As for the construction permit, which, according to the municipality, had lost its validity in the meantime, Puusepp said that Kairi submitted a complaint to the municipal government and also sent additional information, as a result of which the municipality satisfied the complaint.

«It is apparent that the incompetence and arrogance of a municipal official can cause a lot of injustice. In this case, the current mayor of Haljala, Anti Puusepp, was able to bring the parties to the negotiating table to clarify the circumstances and to critically review the actions of his predecessor Ivar Lilleberg,» Kairi summed up the affair.