Local government

Torsby Municipality is run by both elected representatives and municipal administrators. This is how local government works in Torsby.

Local democracy

The Swedish law requires municipalities to provide certain services and facilities, while other services are not mandatory.

In the end, the citizens themselves decide upon the means by which the municipality provides services and facilities to its citizens. But all 11 200 citizens cannot be involved in every decision. Every four years, politicians are chosen in municipal elections to represent the citizens and make decisions affecting their lives.

Between elections you can, through direct contact with politicians, influence the outcome of decisions. Your views are an important part of the democratic decision-making process. Here is a list of all local elected representatives (politicians) with their addresses and telephone numbers.

You can also write a citizens' proposal ("medborgarförslag" in Swedish).

Decision-making in Torsby Municipality

Depending on the subject, decisions in the municipality are made by

• the Municipal Council,
• the Municipal Executive Committee,
• one of the municipal committees or sub-committees, or by
• administrators

When a single politician, sub-committee or administrator or sub-committee takes a decision in a specific case, this is called a delegated decision. Such decisions are made according to the guidelines established by the municipal committee concerned and they are reported afterwards to that committee.

The Municipal Council

The Municipal Council is the highest decision-making body in the local government (the municipal "Parliament”). It takes all the important decisions regarding the functioning of local government. This includes decisions on how many municipal committees are needed, taxation rates, and the extent of services to be provided by different administrative sectors within the municipality. The Municipal Council also elects representatives to serve on the Executive Committee and other committees.

In some cases, the Municipal Council can delegate decision-making powers to the Municipal Executive Committee or to another municipal committee.

In the mandate period of 15 October 2018 to 14 October 2022, Torsby's , Torsby's Municipal Council comprises 31 representatives from seven different political parties. The representatives are elected every four years by residents. Seats are awarded according to the proportion of votes received by each party. The present distribution of seats in the Municipal Council is as follows:

Welcome to the Municipal Council

Sessions of the Municipal Council are open to the public and you are invited to attend and listen. The Municipal Council meets once a month in Torsby or Sysslebäck, usually on the last Tuesday of the month. Sessions start at 18.00 hours. There are no sessions during July and August. Exact dates and locations of Municipal Council meetings are announced in the local press and on this website.

Every session begins with questions from the public. Here is your chance to ask about services and utilities provided by the local government. The questions may be submitted in advance, but this is not required. You may ask questions yourself or have them read aloud by the chairperson. You are required to be there in person.

All sessions are broadcast by local radio. Tune in to 100,6 Mhz in Torsby and 104,1 Mhz in Klarälvdalen.

The Municipal Executive Committee

The Municipal Executive Committee is the “governing” branch of the local government. It consists of 11 delegates and 11 substitutes. The Executive Committee meets once a month.

The Executive Committee has many tasks and responsibilities. It prepares issues to be decided upon in the Municipal Council and is responsible for the administration of policies and services within the municipality. The committee is also responsible for financial planning, guided by long-term financial policies and the annual budget.

In addition, the Executive Committee provides for comprehensive planning, implementation of information and technology, use of land and resources, employment strategy, communications and the tourist bureaus. Maintenance of streets, roads, water supply and other technical issues are also the responsibility of this committee.

Municipal committees

The elected representatives who sit on municipal committees must implement the decisions made by the Municipal Council and provide services and utilities to the residents. Apart from the Executive Committee, there are six committees in Torsby Municipality:

• Childcare and Education Committee
• Social Services Committee
• Environment and Building Committee
• Committee of Crisis Management*
• Elections Committee
• Chief Guardian Committee

*The Committee of Crisis Management is only in operation during extraordinary events.

Municipally owned companies

Some of the municipal services are provided by municipally owned companies. These companies are:

• Torsby Förvaltning AB (Torsby Management Ltd)
• Torsby Bostäder AB (Torsby Housing Ltd)
• Torsby Flygplats AB (Torsby Airport Ltd)

The municipality also owns two companies together with local businesses:

• Torsby Utveckling AB (Torsby Development Ltd) (the municipality holds 49% of the shares)
• Fritid in Nordvärmland AB (Leisure Nordvärmland Ltd) (the municipality holds 51% of the shares)

One full-time politician

The Chairman of the Municipal Executive Committee also functions as Mayor and is the only politician with a full-time political assignment in the municipality. Other politicians are “leisure politicians”, having their political assignments alongside their ordinary jobs. 125 persons in total are active in different political assignments. During the mandate period of 2014 until 2018, Ann-Katrin Järåsen (Social Democrats) is Chairman of the Executive Committee.

The municipal administration

The municipal administration is responsible for providing facts and statistics needed for the political decision-making process, as well as the execution of the decisions made. About 1093 persons are employed in the municipal administration. Most of them work within education, childcare or care of the elderly. The municipality has two offices, one in Torsby and one in Sysslebäck. The office in Sysslebäck is shared with the Employment Service and the Social Insurance Service.