Up to now, the role of the eight districts' councils and leaders have arguably been largely symbolic, are confined to a narrower number of parties – all deputies come from three parties, and Eesti 200 and Isamaa do not have a district councilor – and are virtually directly under the control of the central city government, which appoints district elders.

The Reform-Eesti 200-SDE-Isamaa Tallinn coalition agreement signed in April states that the role of the eight district councils in city governance is to be increased, to be achieved by expanding their rights.

Tallinn Mayor Jevgeni Ossinovski (SDE) has said that the involvement of these district councils has so far been too formulaic and too modest.

Speaking to ERR's radio news, he said: "One striking example of this is that the city budget bill is sent to district councils for review, yet the amendments they propose do not get voted on at the city council meeting."

"Essentially, these proposals are at the moment never taken into consideration," he added.

This confines the district councils' role to largely an advisory one.

Kaupo Nõlvak (Reform) chair of one of the district councils, argued that substantive decisions affecting these districts are made unilaterally by the district elder (Vanavallem), meaning again elected district council members do not actually have a say in these decisions.

According to Nõlvak too, this renders the district councils largely meaningless at present.

He said: "The decision-making authority is delegated entirely to the district elder appointed by the mayor."

"This has created a situation where those people with a mandate in the district have no rights, and the authority given to the official overrides this," Nõlvak went on.

Ossinovski said while the district council does not need to be given as much as power of veto over decisions affecting that district, there should be more substantive involvement.

Commenting on the coalition's proposals, former Tallinn mayor Mihhail Kõlvart (Center) said they are mainly cosmetic and simply extend the city's decision-making processes, but do not give the districts any more real power.

For that to happen, national legislation, mainly the Local Government Organization Act, would need to be amended, according to Kõlvart.

The former mayor and current Center Party leader said: "This coalition's true attitude is demonstrated by the supplementary budget process, in which the city government did not seek the opinions of the districts and district councils, as we had previously done."

"The district councils had no opportunity to express their views or propose amendments. If this is the genuine attitude, then I truly do not understand what the current city government intends to change, because the budget is known to be the most important document there is for the city," Kõlvart went on.

The supplementary budget was issued last month.

There is no actual need to change the current system, Kõlvart added.

District councilors already have scope to propose specific amendments to the city budget, he said, via the party factions which sit on the district councils – in other words Reform's district councilors could appeal to the party's city councilors and so on.

"The substantial possibility of submitting these amendment proposals via city council factions or specific members already exists," Kõlvart added.

Kaupo Nõlvak of Reform also said that district councils could have a greater role in handling planning processes relevant to their districts.

Pirita district council currently includes a planning committee, he noted, which features both councilors and district government architects and other specialists.

This committee can make non-binding recommendations to the district elder on a specific project, but "this does not go anywhere. It does not even reach the city council," Nõlvak said.

If a decision relating to that district is made, that district council's position has to be sought out anew, if that even happens, he added.

District councils should have the right to make decisions or oppose major planning projects, by proposing amendments he added.

Tallinn's eight districts each have district councils composed of party representatives, based on the vote share in that district at the last local elections – from October 2021 in the current situation – and with an absolute total number of seats based on that district's population.

For instance, the Lasnamäe district council, the most populous district of the capital, consists of 33 deputies, two-thirds of whom are from the Center Party whereas the Pirita district council has 15 members, but only three are from the Center Party. Reform has four deputies in Pirita, the largest of any single party.

A working party has proposed several suggestions to enhance the role of district councils. In addition to permitting them to propose amendments to the city budget and budget strategy, a district council's audit committee being able to review district government contracts was also suggested.

Currently, the audit committee can only review the work of the district council itself.

Other suggestions included district council sessions being broadcast live, district council members being able to author articles for the local district free paper, and a district council should having the authority to decide on investments deemed necessary, up to a total of €100 per resident, per year.

"In terms of both substantive cultural change and legal acts, we are ready to work towards granting district councils more rights," Ossinovski said, noting that decisions should be finalized in the fall, under the leadership of the city council chair (currently Maris Sild of SDE).

The Tallinn district councils with their chairs are:

• Haabersti: Lembit Kolk (Reform).
• Põhja-Tallinn (North Tallin): Andrei Birov (Center).
• Nõmme: Vilja Toomast (Reform).
• Mustamäe: Maksim Volkov (Center).
• Lasnamäe: Izabella Riitsaar (Center).
• Kristiine: Kristo Enn Vaga (Reform).
• Kesklinn (City Center): Margit Hiiet (SDE).
• Pirita: Kaupo Nõlvak (Reform Party.