The first item to be dealt with was complaints that Fort Consternation was a bastion of vice and rank with dangerous criminals who would rob you at first thought. Simply put, many citizens felt they were quite unsafe. So, Mayor Quintillus pulled up the crime reports. And he found the following:
That's right... a pie throwing! How scandalous! Further investigation showed that this was the only crime reported to the city in the previous year. As such, the Mayor concluded that the city had not gone to the thieves already, and as such the libertarian paradise experiment could continue awhile longer.
The Mayor did find an item needing of attention in that the new development by the elementary school had been left out in the dust when it came to a water supply. Seeing as the city still had plenty of H2O, the mayor quickly connected the area.
Otherwise, however, the Mayor found the city to be in good shape. A surplus of 500 simoleons per month was healthy, and pollution was limited to the industrial area of town. So, the mayor set out his five-year plan:
- Establish a farming commune
- Lose money at a similar rate as the previous administration - end the term with at least 160,000 simoleons for the next mayor.
- Give the next mayor a budget surplus of at least 750 simoleons per month.
- Establish Fort Consternation's first apartments
- Establish the first public transit route and convince people to make use of it
Whether all this could be accomplished, particularly improving the surplus, was uncertain. But the mayor would give it the old college... err, elementary school... try!
The Mayor chose the rolling knolls to the south of the city as a good location for farms, built a few roads and pipes, connected power, and within a few months, several farms had opened just in time for the summer, providing 80 new jobs and 100 simoleons of tax revenue!
Although somewhat underwhelming in terms of jobs, nevertheless the Mayor was pleased that the citizens of Fort Consternation would have fresh produce that fall.
That fall, there was indeed produce... and the first bus routes in Fort Consternation!
The mayor had debated whether to go with busses or trains. There was space for a rail corridor to the industrial area, but in the end, the uncertain ridership made busses a more economical option. Six bus stops were established, not destroying a single building in the process, and a system was established. Initial ridership can only be described as modest, but was existant. The routes can be seen below in blue:
And where it that new road to nowhere going? That's to be the site of Fort Consternation's first apartments! Mayor Quintillus envisions the green, fertile plains to the northwest of the current city as an excellent future downtown area. But it only makes sense to take advantage of the bussing radius of the current school when expanding. So, the new apartments will be to the west of the most recent new development.
It took awhile, but soon enough, there was development in the new area!
...and no one had built any apartments. The mayor double-checked, and yes, the zoning allowed it. But no one wanted apartments in Fort Consternation.
The city planner suggested it may be an issue with the types of jobs available nearby; perhaps a new industrial area would be required to stimulate growth.
But demand for dirty industry was negative, and the residents already had short commutes, and were happy in general. So the Mayor decided to let things be for now, and in the meantime, expanded the farms for the following year's harvest.
It was in the summer of the second year of his term that the Mayor noticed the first medium-wealth commercial spaces were opening... in particular, a couple of import stores:
This was a celebrated event... Fort Consternation was moving up in the world!
By the second year's harvest, the city's monthly surplus was just barely 750 simoleons per month. This would likely fall soon as a new water tower would have to be built before long, but nevertheless the mayor was pleased with the new taxes, mostly from farms. With the treasury still at over 170,000 simoleons, this left the apartments as the only of the original goals that was not yet met, though there was room for improvement in the others.
In April of his third year, the Mayor was admiring the first high-wealth residence in town, a palatial estate. Fort Consternation really was an up-and-coming town!
But while he was doing so, crisis struck! A fire broke out in the industrial district! With no fire stations, there was a serious risk that many of Fort Consternation's industries, and its power plant, might burn down. Thinking quickly, the Mayor decided that the time for a firefighter-free paradise was over, and the citizens of Fort Consternation raised a small fire station within an hour so that the blaze could be put out.
Unfortunately this, along with the new water tower on the northwest side of town, meant the budget surplus was below 750 simoleons per month again. So the mayor went to his go-to solution, and zoned more farm areas. Fort Consternation vegetables would soon be the envy of the world!
And after doing so, while touring town, the Mayor noticed that his efforts had paid off, as the first apartments had been built!
Pleased, the Mayor hoped that this would be only the first of many apartments to come.
In the fall of his third year, the Mayor caused a brief crisis when applying austerity measures to the power plant, and unintentionally overshooting the possible budget savings, resulting in widespread brownouts. This was an important lesson in mayorality - it's better to spend a few extra simoleons on power than to anger your populace by unnecessarily causing power outages.
By spring of the Mayor's fourth year, education had increased sufficiently that SimIndustry deemed Fort Consternation residents smart enough to work in factories, and manufacturing demand was increasing noticeably. As such, Mayor Quintillus expanded the traditional industrial area for the first time in his mayorality, zoning a small new medium industrial zone. Sure enough, within a few months, some new manufacturers had taken up residence!
So successful was the manufacturing area that another one across the street was quickly zoned.
And by this time, Mayor Quintillus's secret goal of having agriculture and manufacturing surpass dirty industry in tax base was nearly realized. And indeed, with just a few more farms early in the fifth year, dirty industry no longer ruled Fort Consternation!
In October of the mayor's final year, the water situation once again reached the tipping point, with 99.87% of water available in use. As the final construction of his mayorality, Quintillus ordered a new water tower built, sparing his successor a crisis upon inaugeration.
As the Mayor prepared for his final Christmas in office, he noticed that right across the street from his house, a new, high-wealthy commercial office had opened!
High-wealth commercial as well as residential! Though still quite little in both categories, the Mayor was pleased to leave his successor the beginnings of an upper class society in Fort Consternation.
As he left office, the mayor reviewed his goals. All five had been met. His successor would inherit a treasury with 163,000 simoleons in it, as well as a budget surplus of 1160 simoleons per month. A couple of the bus stops were now respectably busy, and mass transit was only slightly unprofitable. Apartments had been built, and the farming community was thriving, and now more influential than dirty industry fiscally - a legacy the mayor was glad to be able to leave behind.
Despite this, his successor would have challenges. Education and health had been maintained, but no improvements made. Fort Consternation was still largely a poor town. And though fire coverage now existed in the industrial area, there were still no cops. Crime had tripled to a rate of 3 despite population increasing by only 50% - could the libertarian paradise last?
Fort Consternation
Mayor: MoreEpicThanYou
Population: 4483 (+1632; +57.2%)
Mayor Rating: Approximately 60 (how do you get the exact number for this?)
Funds §163,088 (-§17,468; -9.7%)
Thanks. I've never built so many farms in SC4. But all those gently hills seemed to be just asking for some nice rows of maize and soybeans, and some pleasant apple and orange groves.
