Implementing ordinances: advice

Contributor/author(s): Bob Morris

Deciding which of the ordinances to implement in your city can be confusing at times, especially when you have a lot of petitioners asking for particular ordinances, or to repeal others, while your advisors give you advice that may not be what you want to take.

You don't have to wait until petitioners come to you with requests for ordinances. There are some which are a good idea to implement in your city, even if you don't get a petitioner request.

The following ordinances are usually the best ones to implement:

Mandatory Water Meters: This is a cheap way to cut back on water consumption, and it doesn't have any negative effect on industry like the water conservation ordinance. It's especially good to pass this ordinance if your city is growing rapidly, hence its water demand increases.

Pro-Reading Campaign: A very inexpensive way to raise your education quotient, and a higher EQ helps you attract more clean industry. You don't have to have a library in your city to pass the ordinance, it just won't be petitioned for until you build a library.

Youth Curfew: A lower crime rate helps to raise land values, and a boost to EQ helps to attract clean industry to your city. It's not very popular among the youth, but the benefits of the ordinance outweigh those complaints you get.

Tire Recycling: The best benefit you get is actually the reduced cost for building roads. The cost for road tiles adds up, and this can help you save more money than you may realize. The garbage reduction is more of a bonus...the real benefit is the reduced cost for roads.

Conservation Corps: Although your advisors often tell you it costs too much money to pass this, look at the benefits. Increased clean industry demand, reduced crime, reduced garbage, and reduced water pollution. Four benefits from one ordinance...you can't beat that.

Clean Industry Association: This is probably the best of the ordinances geared specifically at increasing clean industry demand. Unlike the tax incentives, this one also discourages dirty industry, with the effect of reducing pollution. Pass the ordinance as soon as it becomes available.

Parking Fines: This is the best of the ordinances that raises money for your city, because it also helps to reduce traffic. Although it can decrease aura, there are plenty of ways to counter that, such as increasing land values, EQ, health, and adding special buildings which attract more residents to your city.

Subsidized Mass Transit: You'll be surprised at how much this helps to increase mass transit usage and decrease traffic. The reduction in money per passenger is usually countered by the increased usage of mass transit.

As always, though, ordinances you pass should fit in with your specific city goals. For example, if you want to keep your city small, passing too many ordinances is not a good idea, as it will cost you a lot of money.

See also
Ordinances: the good and the bad