2.4 Local level of the political system

2.4.1 Organs at local level

The organs of the political system at local level are local councils and local municipalities. Both are considered to be parts of the executive power of the Republic. The most important legal acts regulating the formation of local political organs and their activities are Local Government Council Election Act and Local Government Organisation Act.

Local councils
Estonian citizens and citizens of the European Union who have attained 18 years of age by election day and whose permanent residence, i.e. residence the address details of which have been entered in the Estonian population register, is located in the corresponding rural municipality or city have the right to vote in local elections. Also, an alien has the right to vote if he or she resides in Estonia on the basis of a permanent residence permit and has, by election day, legally resided in the corresponding rural municipality or city for at least the last five years. Political parties, election coalitions and individual candidates may participate in council elections. Since the elections in 2005 local councils are elected for four years, before that for three years.

Local governments
A local council elects the head of local government, confirms and dismisses the members of local governments. A local council also decides the number of the members in local government and its structure.

2.4.2 Authority / function and tasks at local level

Local councils
Local councils have an exclusive mandate to decide following questions:

  1. adopting and changing local budget
  2. establishing, changing and annulling local taxes
  3. taking loans and other financial obligations
  4. adopting the regulations
  5. accepting and changing the strategic development plan of a city or a rural municipality
  6. designating the representatives of a city or a rural municipality in the county association of local governments
  7. deciding the establishment of municipal enterprises and foundations, and the participation in business enterprises, foundations, NGO's
  8. establishing, reorganising and finishing the activities of municipal agencies and organisations
  9. adopting, changing and annulling the building regulation and other regulations
  10. initiation, adoption and changing of the comprehensive plan
  11. annulling detailed plans and adoption of detail plans in case the surveillance over the planning procedures is mandatory
Local councils elect the head of local government - a mayor, decide the number of the members in local government and its structure, and confirm and dismiss the members of local governments.

Although local councils may establish local taxes, the proportion of local taxes in local budgets is minimal. Most of the tax revenues come from state/nation-wide taxes - residential revenue tax and land tax. Tax revenues form less than half of the total amount of Estonian local budgets. The other bigger sources of revenues are different kind of state subsidies and revenues from the local services and municipal assets. Thus, the financial autonomy is of an average local municipality is quite weak - the local councils do not control most of the municipal revenues.
Local councils may delegate the fulfilment/execution of the tasks to local governments.

Local governments
Local governments prepare the questions discussed in local councils. They decide and organise the questions of local community, which are designated by councils' regulations and decisions, or which are designated as a task of the local government by the statute of a city or a rural municipality. Local governments deal also with the questions delegated to them by local councils.