Helsinki City Council

The City of Helsinki’s highest decision-making body is the City Council, elected in municipal elections every four years. Helsinki City Council has 85 permanent members and an equal number of deputy members. As the City of Helsinki's working languages are Finnish and Swedish, meetings are carried out in Finnish and Swedish. Therefore, agendas and decisions are legally binding only in Finnish and Swedish.

The Council is responsible for the most important decisions

The City Council’s responsibilities include the definition of City strategies and other important objectives, the bases of service fees and the bases of City administration's organisation. The City Council appoints other City bodies and the highest City officers. It also decides on principal financial matters such as the city budget, appropriations of different sectors and the municipal tax rate.

The City Council also decides on the City’s master plan and most important local plans, the establishment and closing of educational institutions, and certain social benefits as well as certain health care services. The organisation of the City Council’s activities and the meeting procedure is defined in the Council agenda.

The City Council has transferred some of its authority to other bodies with ordinances, including the City Board, committees, boards and City officers. By transferring authority, the Council can better focus on the main issues and the overall development of the City.

Click here for more information on City Council groups

Council meetings

The City Council meetings are livestreamed on Helsinkikanava.fi, the City of Helsinki's web channel, and they are also available afterwards online. The meeting agendas are available on the Council website on the Friday preceding the meeting in Finnish and Swedish, and the Council decisions are reported on Helsinki-kanava already in the course of the meeting and immediately after the meeting on the Council website in Finnish.

The Council meets every other Wednesday

The City Council normally meets every other Wednesday. The general public can attend the Council meetings from a designated area in the Council’s chamber. The public has no direct access to the meetings of other City bodies, but the agendas and decisions are made available on the City decision-making webpages.

For more information:

• Click here for more information on Councillors in English
  
• Click here for more information on the meeting agendas in Finnish
• Click here for more information on the Council's decisions in Finnish

For more information on Council decisions and agendas in English, please call the City Registry Office, tel. +358 (0)9 310 13700

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16.02.2021 12:00