The City Council in Linköping is the local equivalent of the Parliament and has 79 members. Their role is to decide about major, overall issues or fundamental matters that have the most affect on the residents of the municipality – you.

Normally ten City Council meetings are held every year and all of them are open to the public as well as being transmitted live on the local radio (95.5). Some of the issues that are discussed and decide are specified in the Swedish Local Government Act whilst others are of such great importance to the residents that they should be decided on this level. These include:

• Goals and guidelines for municipal operations
• Budget and taxes
• Choice of board and committee members
• Choice of accountants
• Annual discussion about whether finances and  municipal operations have been handled correctly (freedom from liability) 

Executive Board handles the day to day matters

The Executive Board (KS – Kommunstyrelsen) is the local equivalent of the government, the only difference being that all the major parties are represented.

The main role of the Executive Board is to lead and coordinate the work and responsibilities of the boards and committees as well as the municipal companies. In Linköping this includes Tekniska Verken, Stångåstaden and St Kors Fastighets AB.

Overall

The Executive Board is not only responsible for the financial administration and salaries but is also the municipality’s political body for the business sector and much more besides. The Board also acts as the committee for the organisation of the municipality’s Executive Office. This Office has overall municipal responsible for issues relating to finance, personnel, legislation and administration and is manned by civil servants. There is also a clientside office which is mainly responsible for all procurements on behalf of municipally financed operations. This office sees that the regulations and procedures relating to procurement are followed.