Municipal companies
The municipality currently has one parent company, Trollhättan Stadshus AB, and three operating subsidiaries: AB Eidar Bostadsbolag, Trollhättans Tomt AB and Trollhättan Energi.
Ownership control
The municipality's wholly-owned companies are responsible for extensive and important activities.
The companies operate under the municipal council and are controlled by the owner through various documents and decisions. In order to make the role of the owner clearer, supplementary governing documents have been drawn up. These include a shared company policy for all the companies, an owner directive for each company and a guarantee policy including a guarantee framework for the municipality's guarantee commitments.
Background
The municipality's companies are responsible for important activities and represent substantial financial values. Their ownership involves a large responsibility for the companies' strategic direction and development. Company operations, just like public administration, lie within the municipality's/municipal council's responsibility and must be governed by politically appointed bodies. At the same time, the companies' actions are subject to the regulatory framework for limited companies.
In the final analysis, the companies are owned by a municipality and are established to achieve politically determined objectives. However, governance cannot take place in the same way as in the city council and the municipal executive board governs the parts of the municipality which are organised as councils and public administration.
Modern ownership governance includes documents to clarify the aim of the municipality for the company, provide a framework and guidelines, regulate the forms of consultation and so on. The steering documents may have different forms and degrees of detail.
All governance is a balance between the owner's needs of control and the company's needs of independence. The aim of the steering documents is to clarify important objectives and conditions for both municipalities and companies, while preserving the companies' ability to operate and develop its operations through an active board and executive management. The municipality should be an active owner who creates value and contributes to development in its companies.