Estonia's 79 municipalities constitute the second and final level of the country's administrative structure, serving as the primary units of local government. These municipalities handle essential public services including education, social welfare, local infrastructure, spatial planning, and public utilities. They maintain responsibility for organizing healthcare facilities, managing local roads, providing public transport, and overseeing waste management within their territories. Municipal councils, elected by local residents, approve budgets, set local taxes within nationally defined limits, and make decisions on land use and development. The municipalities operate with significant autonomy, though they function within the framework established by national legislation. This administrative arrangement reflects Estonia's relatively streamlined governance system, where the single tier of local government directly delivers services to citizens without intermediate provincial authorities.