Tips & Tricks - SC4 Budget (MAXIS)

Master Budget Queries

For buildings that can be locally funded, such police stations, fire stations, schools, hospitals, and power stations, you adjust their funding in both the query dialog for each building, or through the master budget query for each department. The master budget query can be viewed by clicking on the department in the budget panel. This lists every building in your city that falls under that budget and allows you to adjust the funding for each building, as well as center the camera on each building by clicking on the building name.

Making Money

The primary way to make money in SimCity 4 is through taxation. The more people you have in your city, the more tax revenue you will generate. Early in the game, it is important that you build your city up prior to spending a lot of money on amenities for your Sims to generate a good tax base. You can also increase tax revenue by increase the tax rates. Raise them too high, however, and your Sims will move to another town.

Local Budgets

Many of the buildings in SimCity 4 that have monthly costs associated with them can be adjusted locally by bringing up their query dialogs. This means that you can adjust them separately from each other. So, for example, you might have a clinic on the east side of your city that is funded at 20% while another to the north might be funded at 110%. The buildings that can be locally funded include power plants, police stations, fire stations, schools, and hospitals. In this way, you can fine-tune your budget to get the most money possible with the least impact on the lives of your citizens. The funding at these locations can affect the radius of the buildings' effects as well as the efficiency of the building within that radius. In the case of schools and hospitals, you can set the funding for the radius and efficiency separately using the busing/ambulance funding for radius and the teachers/doctors funding for efficiency.

Where to Scrimp

In general it's a bad idea to reduce the funding of power plants, police stations, and fire stations. If you fund a power plant too low, then you increase the rate at which it ages. This can lead to some nasty consequences if it goes on too long. For these types of buildings, it's better to not place the buildings at all rather than place too many and lower their funding. Hospitals and schools, however, can have their funding lowered depending on the number of patients and students they are serving. If you reduce the funding too much, a strike might ensue, but if you lower funding at just the right amount, you will get the most bang for your buck.