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Municipal Technical Advisory Service (MTAS)

Ordinance Numbering

Reference Number: MTAS-1043
Reviewed Date: 08/23/2023

General Considerations
Ordinances should be numbered so that the codifier can tell that all ordinances for a given year have been sent for codification. MTAS recommends a numbering system that includes the year of the ordinance as well an ordinance number. Unless your charter provides otherwise, ordinance numbers should be consecutive from year to year; the first ordinance for a given year should have the next logical number from the last ordinance of the preceding year. For example, if the last ordinance of 2003 was "03-42," the first ordinance for 2004 should be "04-43." The first two digits are the year in which the ordinance was passed, and the second two digits are the ordinance number. This system not only provides a quick reference of the year in which the ordinance passed, it also makes it easy for the codifier to tell whether or not any ordinances are missing.