KSL and 26 municipalities in Stockholm County cooperate in a powerful region

The Stockholm County Association of Local Authorities – KSL– is a politically controlled organization comprised of the county's 26 member municipalities.

Its operations are financed mainly through service fees. KSL may, according to the General Assembly, charge up to 0.50 per mille of the municipalities' tax and grant revenue.

KSL's General Assembly meets every fourth year. The scope of the organization and its finances is determined here. The General Assembly also appoints a Board of Directors for KSL. Political committees are appointed by the Board to assist in preparatory work. The political committees' areas of responsibility are:

• labour market
• community development, energy and the environment
• health and social services
• education

Day-to-day work is led and coordinated by KSL's Chief Executive Officer and Executive Staff Unit.

KSL is the municipalities’ meeting place

KSL is an arena for strategic discussions where we bring up, in our networks, issues and positions that are important to and characteristic of the county and the region.

Cooperation with key persons in the municipalities – chairs of municipal executive boards, committee chairs, municipal directors and administration heads – is vitally important to our work.

KSL is the hub for cooperation, dialogue and establishing support among municipalities. KSL shall also represent the municipalities in relation to external actors and organizations with the purpose of strengthening the municipalities' and the region's voice and influence. This occurs through, among other things, dialogue with national authorities and concerned regional actors.

KSL is relevant

KSL monitors and safeguards the municipalities' interests and encourages cooperation among the municipalities. Stockholm County is a metropolitan area. An important task is to convey information about the region and the specific conditions that prevail in an area like ours.

KSL assists the municipalities in their operations, supporting and developing local self-government. Local self-government, which has deep historical roots in Sweden, means that municipalities manage local and regional affairs as their own responsibility and in the interest of the local population.

We act on behalf of the municipalities in negotiations and talks and represent the municipalities in various regional organs. We coordinate and analyze trends and want to stay a step ahead to observe important changes in society at large that may affect our members.

KSL conveys new information and is a forum for exchange of experience, discussions and debate.

KSL delivers results

One of our most important tasks is to make it easier for municipalities to work together on important issues and in that way make life easier for people who reside in Stockholm County.

Such efforts may include, for example, the creation of a common region for upper secondary schools where all students in the county of Stockholm may apply to upper secondary school on equal terms. KSL, together with involved parties, might also find solutions for providing optimal home health care when responsibility for this is transferred to municipalities.

Stockholm County – big differences, but common needs

Stockholm County is approx. 180 kilometers long and approx. 90 kilometers wide, excluding the sea. Of the county's ground area, approx. 17 percent is agricultural land, 40 percent is forestry land and 15 percent is developed land.

Approximately two million people reside in Stockholm County, which means that 21 percent of Sweden's population is spread across two percent of the country's total surface area. The county has the highest level of population density in Sweden. And the region of Stockholm is growing at a rate that is one the fastest in Western Europe. The region is expected to gain an additional 500,000 residents by the year 2030.