My RK Town Council

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Town Council

Do you need a Town Council? Yes. If you want to be REALLY successful and you think you might have a hard time learning to run the office a Town Council is really helpful. Here is my Town Council list and job descriptions. This is my actual FORUM POST:

Hooray! Who wants to officially join the new Town Council? Why you want to be in TC:

1) Keep the mayor in check and keep him/her apprised of issues
2) Learn about our economy and how to improve it
3) Receive a title and responsibilities that will enhance your RK experience

4) Get educated about the inner working of RK life
5) Get involved and make a difference
6) Vote on important issues and share your opinionsYou are all welcome to become Town Council. It's not too much work. You are assigned a position and then you just fulfill the duties of that title. You'll just be helping me out and it might even be fun. ^ ^

Please post your experience and let me know what position you are most interested in. Thank you.Positions:

Job details
1. Mayor:
* Runs the market and finances. Dabbles in every position and runs the council.
* Finalizes everything that is done, and puts the final decisions of the council into action.
* Creates votes for TC to vote on.

2. Deputy Mayor:
* Helps mayor answer questions in forums and in game (can act in forum matters in absence of the mayor).
* Assists mayor with trades and/or other business.
* Keeps mayor apprised of all political situations and/or hostile possibilities.
* Can create polls/votes in TC forum. Can request things to be split, or locked.
* Makes sure promised activities are completed by the Mayor or him/herself.

3. Spokesman:
* Reports the details of the town council's decisions and updates to the public of Whithorn. Nothing will be held secret from the citizens and that will be made clear through the Spokesperson.

4. Secretary of Council:
*Updates profession lists, works with mayor on statistics.
* Creates the polls in TC forum, keeps things organized with reports in TC forum. Can request things to be split, or locked.
* Makes sure promised activities are completed by each member, including the Mayor.

5. Minister of Morale:
* Makes sure the citizens of Whithorn are happy, and entertained. Gets involved in games, and gets the citizens active within the forums and taverns. Also endorses the forum whenever possible.
* Makes sure citizens are reading the Town Hall message, as many of their questions can be answered by it.
* Makes sure citizens that are of a low level and strength are fishing. Endorse and advertise the fishing map for Whithorn, located here:
http://fishing.melyadon.info/?village=whithorn6. Minister of Trade/ Trade Manager:
* Works directly with the mayor. Helps to compile lists of import/export needs of the town. You may travel or be required to find a traveler to deliver grants.

7. Minister of Economics:
* Watches the food (including stat food) and the needs of the citizens. Speaks with Bakers, Millers, and other professionals to get the market moving with a constant supply of the goods we need on a daily basis.

8. Minister of Law/ Market Manager:
* Makes sure law and town decrees are being enforced. Sends warnings to those violating laws. Acts as Public Prosecutor of Whithorn, and has the right to prosecute offenders by name of the town. (Must be rare and serious occasions as the prosecution takes up State points).

9. Minister of Key Resources:
* Makes sure the fishing market is moving, and makes sure citizens that are of a low level and strength are fishing. 5-15 fish should be on the market at all times as we are a fishing town.
* Also helps to import wood or other "key" items in times of need.
* Often works with the Trade Manager.

10. Minister of Public Funds:
* Manages the Loan Offices of the Town. Works with the mayor and other council members on what kind of loan types we should offer.
* Creates loan votes in the TC forum. Gives a full report and keep the Mayor on task regarding loans.

11. Chief Mentor:
* Uses and/or edit our awesome Chief Mentor letter and follows up with all newbies on it. Consults with mayor about welcoming and training newbies.
* Contacts new and week-old players to help them progress.

12. Mentor Apprentice:
*Assist chief mentor in contacting new players. Works under Chief Mentor to accomplish common goals.

13. Public Committee Members:
* The Public Committee makes sure to check the status of the citizens, and answer questions they may have.
* They help the TC cope with current events and/or give advice and information to the mayor and council.

Random Letters from RK Citizens

MARKET FRUSTRATION:

"What is up with the market?? I cannot sell my flour and it's listed at 13,45. What do I have to list it at for it to sell.... 10,00?? I am down to my last 49p and about ready to just die and start over or forget this game because the new format sucks! Just getting extremely frustrated with this game!"

Yes. The market is insane and it is very frustrating for us all. I do understand your predicament and I must say that if you can make more money by working on your field than making flour, then please work on your field. You can also consider fishing, but fish are worth less than 18. I also have to mention that there was a time period for several days that wheat was selling for 11 pounds. I am sorry if you missed that wheat. There was a lot of it though. That's why some flour is WAY under your prices.

However, since I have been in Whithorn, there has never been a day that level 2 work was guaranteed. Admtahoe first told me this when I arrived and I have tried to pass it on to others. We just have too many level twos here for anyone that is level 2 to profit well. Even when our market was better, it wasn't easy. For example, many bakers work only a few days a week baking bread. They can not afford to bake everyday. Still, you see all the bread we have. It's ridiculous.

If you DO want to make a nice profit, and this is simply an observation, some people are moving north to Ayr or Glasgow, where there is a lower population. There may be less people, but they have less goods and are in need of level 2 players. They want millers, bakers and the like. Some towns only have 4 level twos in their whole town. Their populations are about 100 people. So, they must have a traveler bring things in. We are a population of 380 with 83 level twos and 6 level threes. 83 level twos. Think about that. It's insane. We have 28 millers. That's a LOT of competition for you. It is.

Again, I am sorry and I understand your frustration. I have had trouble keeping up with the recommended prices too, as they are constantly changing and I try to make the wheat and flour prices connected when I post. I HATE changing recommended prices, as I want them to stay consistent. However, all I can do is try to sell all these goods outward and try to "bail us out" of the market that we are in.

I do want to mention that this market is no one's fault and things are tough everywhere right now. That's the reason why people like Admtahoe, Icy_Princess and Swampi are moving north. It's just easier to make money up there and it's very nice to travel around and actually make money trading up there.

Anyway, I hope I have helped you to understand even a little. Thank you for your letter and please let me know if I haven't answered your question well enough. Have a great weekend.

~ Xenina


MOVING INFO
No problem. I can answer your questions and YES, Muirkirk is a wonderful place to move. Lanark is a smaller town and they are both very nice with kind and helpful people.

1) If I move to another village, will I lose both my fields, or will these be transferred to the other village? Also is there an extra cost that I have to pay if I want to move?

You have to sell your fields here and then purchase new fields there in order to actually "move". You will want to take all money and everything out of your home before you leave. If you want to take your money securely I can give you a grant that you can use to hold your cash. You simply "cancel" it when you come back to Whit.

I think Muirkirk is a good choice no matter what your profession. However, moving you will lose your workshop in Whithorn and would have to buy a new workshop in the new town (500 pounds). You can also choose a new profession. So, you may want to simply "visit" Muirkirk for a while and not necessarily move, but it is up to you.

2) what is the risk of robbing along the way, and what can they take from me if they succeed. I don't have a lot of money, but I'm planning on taking my 30 flour and some food with me. (I probably will have to eat along the way won't I?)

The risk of robbery is medium to low right now. You can use lavabo to look ahead and see if there are any well-known thieves on the road, but you can still be robbed by a no-name person. They never get all your goods or cash, but usually most of your cash and about 75% of your goods. The safest way to travel is to find someone with high strength to travel with, so that you will win against any robbers that hit you. Any goods and/or cash that are placed in a grant are COMPLETELY safe from being taken until YOU decide to sell them and take them out. So, let me know if you want one.

~ Xenina

Mayor's Recession Help - Lesson 2

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How to keep prices cheap in your town:
Ok, this tutorial is a step by step on how to deal with the recession by causing more of a recession in your town. If you DO NOT follow my advice, please remember that your Town Hall worth will continue to fall and an empty Town Hall can help no one. If you create excess funds, then that's ok, because you can give that money back to your townfolk in many different ways at a later time. Most mayors do NOT have a problem with having too much Town Hall worth.


1) First encourage LOW prices by placing suggested prices in your Town Hall message and mention this in your Mayor's Office forum thread. You are ALREADY in a recession. You can't change that. Lowering prices IS necessary in order to LIVE in a recession. This must be explained to the people.


2) Keep prices cheap:

bags of wheat

10.20

9

bags of wheat	10.65	13
bags of wheat	10.70	13
bags of wheat	11.10	11
bags of wheat	11.40	8

3) So, what do you buy? Once people are selling for less, you have to buy correctly. Let's say I want 25 wheat to sell to the county. Here's what I would buy:
2 of the 11.40
4 of the 11.50
8 of the 10.70
5 of the 10.65
5 of the 10.20

Why not buy all the 10.20? If you bought up all the wheat for low prices, then people would start listing at a higher price and BOOM, you just raised all the prices in your town. Every time you buy, you are shaping your market. Remember that.

4) Why you WANT to keep prices stable: If you keep the price stable and affordable then people will continue to list for the same or lower prices.

5) How to explain: How do you explain to your citizens that you need to pay them EVEN LESS in order to help the town prosper? Here are some questions and answers for you and your citizens. This is something I posted in the forum.:

--------
"How do we sell items out?"

Well, we send out grants via citizens that volunteer for it. They are usually Town Council Members.

Then, in the last couple of days we sold items out to the County (via the County Faire). All towns are quite dependent on the County Trade Minister buying up our items (unless their mayor organizes his/her own trades). Until very recently, the county was not buying much of anything, but Sheridan has recently created two trades and has bought up a lot of our extra corn, wheat and fish. This allowed me to clear out the TH for the most part.

"What I see, is an overstocked market with lower and lower prices."

Right now the market is manageable. People are selling their items if they list for a good price. If you wish to sell something just contact the mayor and he/she will grant you cash to purchase your items.

What are the mayor's options as far as market manipulation?
1) Place price-caps or minimums: If the mayor were to artificially "stage" the market, there would be a major side effect. Prices would be pretty standard. Yes. However, people with lower charisma would never sell their items and when I say "never", I mean it. Higher charisma items always sell first, so my bread would probably sit forever, while someone like Hebrin would sell their bread pretty quickly. It would be quite unfair and I would never initiate such an unfair advantaged plan.

2) Set 20 wage prices for level twos: I have heard mention of this also. Again, the same result. It is artificially fixing the market. The results? People with lower charisma would never be able to sell their items and they would never get paid.

I believe a free-market is the best thing that we can do at this time.

"Can't the Mayor or whoever maybe once every two weeks send an email so EVERYONE knows what is happening here."

Like someone said, it costs us "communication points" whenever the mayor sends out a "Town Announcement" and I prefer to save the TH cash for better things. If the mayor were to send out letters a lot, you would be looking at serious costs, as we'd have to hire a specific type of Level 3 State Trained to give us Communication Points.

"You guys want to run our town, then how about including those of us (I'm sure there are many) that don't understand or don't use the forum."

Well, I think I do a decent job of updating the TH msg. I change it every 2 - 5 days. Check it. You'll see that things are moved, changed or re-organized every few days. Current News is always given and I keep the "HOW TO HELP YOUR TOWN" section up to date. Is there an additional section that you think I should add? I have been told that most people don't want to read on and on about the town's affairs. In fact, the longer the note, the less people read the whole thing.

"Why encourage people to leave our town? It appears to me and please correct me if I am wrong, that the mayor is encouraging people to leave and then saying we are in need of Lords. Well sorry, why not try and keep the ones we have ?"

Well, it would be nice if the Lords that we have would stay and the non-Lords moved away, but that's usually not how it happens. Over the past few months, I have discovered how incredibly difficult it is to manage Whithorn. Many of the Level 2s are unhappy that they can not make a living here and they have explained their problems to me. Unfortunately, in RK, we have the ability to create infinite fields, but we are limited in size by having only one market in the town. This was okay in the past because we didn't have so many items on the market, but when the recession hit, it hit us very hard.

Our problems are circular and they all radiate from the fact that our town is over populated (around 400 people). We have about 85 level two people.

"Question: What I want to know is why aren't working professions encouraged?" and "Why are prices so low? I can't sell my stuff."

Because we have 17 bakers, when a well-populated RK town only needs 6-9 bakers.

For example, we have 28 millers here. There is no way that they will not have to fight to be competitive in a single market.

The recession is just not going to allow level twos to make an awesome income anymore. Now, if you were to live in Ayr, you would suffer from some of the same issues, BUT you would have a greater income because there are less bakers living there.

6) More recession answers:
Our issues are NOT authentic to our town. Every town in RK is overstocked right now. Most THs are suffering seriously. They are broke, trying to buy up their town's goods to help the people. I have done a good job in getting things sold before buying more here in Whithorn and I believe that is because of my experience.

Yes. Things are difficult here in Whithorn, but in some towns they have no veggies or no bread. I send letters out to mayors to ask trade and I often hear: "Please tell me what you want to bring. We are overstocked! PLEASE do not dump cheap goods on our market! We need our people to sell their goods."

So, we really should appreciate that our TH worth is pretty stable and that people CAN get jobs and can make a living by working jobs here. Honestly! We CAN fish here. We don't have to borrow axes from the TH just to work for the day. In other places, they are short on certain things or they don't have enough bakers . . . . and well they do not have the choices that you have, so please think about that also.