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Turku Philharmonic Orhestra (City Orchestra) is the oldest orchestra in Finland and one of the oldest in the world. The roots of the Turku Philharmonic Orchestra stretch back to the year 1790 and the founding of The Musical Society in Turku. The orchestra was municipalized in 1927. At present the Turku Philharmonic Orchestra is the fifth largest in Finland with its 74 players.
The Youth Committee makes decisions about grants for organizations and youth activity groups as well as about various youth facility and camp site fees among other things.
Turku’s Youth Committee consists of 13 adult members and an equal number of vice members chosen by the City Council.
The presenting official for the committee is Director of Recreation Division Minna Sartes. The secretary of the committee is Outi Kari-Granfors.
The sports institutions and services subordinate to the Sports Committee offer various possibilities and environments for sports and physical exercise. The Sports Committee supports sports clubs and organizations by providing grants.
The Sports Committee makes decisions about sport facility and service fees, exemptions, discounts and the general principles of facility booking among other things.
The Sports Committee consists of 13 members and an equal number of vice members chosen by the City Council for its operating period.
The service areas subordinate to the Cultural Committee offer versatile cultural services to residents and tourists. The committee develops cultural services as well as promotes and supports cultural activity by providing financial assistance and grants to associations and artists from Turku.
In addition, the Cultural Committee makes decisions about common matters concerning more than one service area or unit within the Division.
The Cultural Committee consists of 13 members and an equal number of vice members chosen by the City Council for its operating period.
With the search function you can find city offices or other locations, employees and persons elected to positions of trust. You can look for information based on name, division and unit, for instance.
The tasks of the Environmental Division are to design a comfortable, functioning and safe urban environment, as well as to oversee building, the use of natural environments, and that the environment does not pose health hazards. The Environmental Division is also responsible for regional waste management and for organizing joint public transport in the Turku City region.
The Environmental Division is managed by Divisional Director Christina Hovi
The services organise and develop the city's education and teaching services. The services consist of six (6) service areas:
- Joint services
- Early childhood education and care
- Basic education
- General upper secondary education and adult education
- Vocational education
- Swedish language education and training
The director of the Education services is Timo Jalonen.
The City of Turku collaborates with universities to incorporate academic insights into strategic development and decision-making. The main collaboration platform is the Turku Urban Research Programme, a joint initiative between the City of Turku, the University of Turku, and Åbo Akademi University.
The accounting period for the municipality is one calendar year. For each accounting period, a financial statement must be compiled by the end of March. The Council processes the statement in June.
A financial statement by the City of Turku consists of an income statement, balance sheet, and respective attachments, as well as implementation comparison of the budget, annual report, and consolidated balance sheet.
2023
By approving the budget for the coming year the City of Turku confirms the appropriations and revenue estimates for its various administration units, or the net budgeting with which the City of Turku will produce its basic services, including health and social services and education.
The City's boards and management boards present their own budget proposals in September. Then the City Board discusses the budget in November and the City Council confirms it in November or December.
The management and guidance of the City of Turku concern are based on an agreement between council groups and on the strategy and agenda works.
Finances
The municipal tax is an income tax paid to the municipality. The municipal tax percent is confirmed annually. The 2019 income tax for the City of Turku is 19.50%.
Information on the City of Turku finances can be found from Financial Statements.
Turku, with its surrounding municipalities, is an energetic centre of growth in the Baltic Sea area. The versatile livelihood structure, top class selection of education, culture, and services, as well as the beautiful archipelago, form a magnetic combination in Turku.
There are over 200 000 residents in Turku. The entire region has over 350 000 residents. A great portion of Turku residents are students. The city has two universities and four higher education institutions with over 40 000 students altogether.
There are 12 committees in Turku.
Committees
The City Council, which is elected by the city’s residents, exercises the highest authority in the city. The City Council is elected for a four-year-term in an election taking place every four years.
The Turku City Council has a total of 67 councillors during the term of 2021-2025. In accordance with the Finnish Local Government Act, the number of councillors is determined by the number of inhabitants in the city. For their work, councillors may form political groups, of which there are a total of nine in the Turku City Council.
The City Board is responsible for the City's administration and financial management as well as preparing, implementing, and monitoring the legality of City Council decisions. The City Board supervises the interests of the City and, unless otherwise stated by law or by administrative regulations, represents the City and exercises its right to comment on wide-ranging, city-wide matters.
The City Board has 14 members, and each member has a personal vice member. The City Council chooses members for the City Board for two years at a time.
The new political model of leadership and structure of city bodies of Turku has taken effect on August 1, 2021. The highest executive authority of the city are represented by the Mayor and three Deputy Mayors.
Magazines
Turkuposti
Turkuposti brings the services of the city into your home. The magazine covers topical matters of the city and showcases the services offered by the city. Turkuposti is mostly in Finnish, but some articles are in Swedish.
The goals of the assessment and auditing activity are to
- produce real, reliable and up-to-date information about the municipality's operations or a single task as it is or in relation to set goals.
- produce information for members of the council, inhabitants, municipality's officials and employees and the surrounding society about how the municipality has succeeded or progressed in its tasks.
- use the results to guide the municipality's operations and have them influence goal-setting and assessment of results.
City of Turku has updated political decision-making model in August 1st 2021. The City is leaded by the Mayor and three Deputy Mayors.
Turku group has about 67 subsidiaries. Municipal wholly-owned subsidiaries refer to the entities where the municipality alone, or together with the other entities of the municipal concern, have authority. The most important and significant ones of them have been named as strategic entities at the City (26 in total, and they are presented more precisely by business areas and companies below.)
The Service Centres, in addition to the Central Administration, operate under the governance of the City Board:
The Central Administration, headed by the Mayor and the Chief of Staff, attends to preparation and implementation of decision-making for the City Council, the City Board and its section. Additionally, the Central Administration assists the Mayor and the Chief of Staff with directing the divisions, as well as looks after the city’s centralized services.