The Ordinance Window

# Ordinance Window

### Finance Programs

Safety and Health Programs

Educational Programs

Promotional Programs

Other Programs

> ### Online Help Table of Contents

> The Ordinance windows is where community programs and city ordinances are established and inspected. You can open the window to propose that an ordinance be put up to a vote by your fellow commissioners by selecting Ordinance from the Windows menu. In the Submit Ordinance to a Vote window, click on any of the names of ordinances that you'd like to see enacted citywide.
> After a period of time, the Election Day window will come onscreen for all players, with the various proposed ordinances highlighted. (You may see an onscreen time limit in which to vote.) Check the ones you want enacted and hit the OK button, and a tally will be made among all players. If all players agree to a specific ordinance, it will be enacted, and you'll soon see a Voting Results window, with active ordinances checked.
> You'll see the same "ordinances in effect" info when you click on the Ordinances books in the Budget window; you can also vote for new ordinances from here. Existing ordinances will remain in place unless they are "called to vote" again through the Submit window by any player. (If new ordinances have been proposed, you can also change your vote on existing ordinances, and the Election Day voting window will reflect every ordinance newly considered.)
> You can examine which ordinances are in place and their costs by clicking on the Ordinances books in the Budget window. There are five categories of programs and ordinances: finance, safety and health, education, promotional and other--they are explained below.
> The cost or projected revenue will vary with the size and development of your city. The Estimated Annual Costs (EST) for all programs is provided in the lower-right corner of the window, next to the Year to Date (YTD) total.
> Click OK to close the Ordinance books.
> Finance Programs
> 1% Sales Tax will add cash to your coffers, but may also inhibit local commerce.
> 1% Income Tax is a source of city revenues, but may discourage residential growth, and even cause some tax-haters to move away.
> Legalized Gambling can provide extra money that can be put to good use, but brings with it an increase in crime.
> Parking Fines are a small, steady source of the green, but tend to hinder commercial growth a little.
> Safety & Health Programs
> A Volunteer Fire Department can be an economical way to fight fires in small communities, but can't replace the professionals in a big city or during a forest fire.
> A Public Smoking Ban can increase the overall health level in your city and eventually increase the average life expectancy, but will cost a small fee to administer.
> Free Clinics increase the overall health level in the city, but free clinics aren't free--at least not to you.
> Junior Sports increases the overall health level of the youth of your city.
> Education Programs
> A Pro-Reading Campaign will increase the overall education level in your city, preparing it for an influx of new, high-tech industries.
> An Anti-Drug Program can help reduce crime.
> Providing CPR Training as a service to your Sims increases the overall level of health in your city.
> Police provides a Neighborhood Watch program to help reduce crime in residential areas, but at a price.
> Promotional Programs
> Tourist Advertising may or may not pay off in bringing visitors with their loose dollars to your fair city. If you do advertise for tourists, make sure you have the right attractions, like marinas, stadiums, parks, zoos, rivers, etc.
> Business Advertising can bring new industry into town, but make sure you can support the businesses with ample water, power, transportation, and enough residential and commercial space to hold the influx of new citizens. And low taxes won't hurt, either.
> City Beautification increases residential desirability and land value.
> An Annual Carnival can increase tourist trade and local commerce, and show your Sims a darn good time. The size, cost and benefit of the carnival varies with your city size.
> Other Programs
> Energy Conservation establishes an educational drive to conserve electricity by, among other things, adding insulation to homes and water heaters. This program takes a few years to ramp up to full effect, but will eventually allow your power plants to power up to 15% more buildings.
> Declaring your city Nuke Free costs nothing, but can make some of your citizens feel safer, and may even attract new citizens to your fair town. It's a small plus for residential desirability and a small minus for industry.
> Homeless Shelters are expensive, but decrease the number of homeless people and increase the number of residents, increasing the labor pool for commerce and industry and marginally increasing land value.
> Pollution controls slightly lower the amount of industrial pollution in your city, but also make the city slightly less desirable to industry.

> #### Year to Date and Estimated Annual Cost

> These entries at the bottom-right of the Ordinance window summarize the cost or income from each category, and gives both year-to-date and full-year estimated totals.

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