Glossary
ACCOUNT: A separate financial reporting unit. All budgetary transactions are recorded in accounts.
ACCRUAL ACCOUNTING: A basis of accounting in which revenues are recognized in the accounting period in which they are earned and expenses are recognized in the period in which they are incurred.
AD VALOREM TAX: A tax levied on the assessed value of real property (also known as "property taxes").
ADMINISTRATIVE CHARGES: Payment from one fund to another fund primarily for work or services provided.
ADOPTED BUDGET: The budget as initially formally approved by the City Commission.
AMENDED BUDGET: The adopted budget as formally adjusted by the City Commission.
AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ACT: Funds intended to provide financial support to State, local and Tribal governments.
APPROPRIATION: A specific amount of money authorized by the City Commission to be expended for the pur¬chase of goods and services.
ASSESSED VALUE: A value set on real estate that is used as the basis for levying property taxes.
ASSESSMENT: A local tax levied against a property for a specific purpose, such as a sewer or street lights.
ASSET: An economic resource that is expected to provide benefits to an entity.
AUDIT: An official examination and verification, by an independent authority, of an organization’s or individual’s financial statements and accounts to determine their accuracy.
BALANCED BUDGET: A budget in which estimated reve¬nues equal estimated expenditures.
BENEFITS: Payments to which participants may be entitled under a pension plan, including pension benefits and amounts due upon termination of employment.
BONDS: A certificate of debt issued by an entity, guaranteeing payment of the original investment, plus interest, by a specified future date.
BUDGET: A financial plan for a specified period of operations that matches all planned revenues and expenditures with the services provided the residents of the City.
BUDGET CALENDAR: The schedule of key dates, which the City follows in the preparation and adoption of the budget.
BUDGET COMMITTEE: Committee established by the City Manager to review all budgetary requests and to complete specific budgetary tasks. The Committee is comprised of the City Manager, Deputy City Manag¬ers, Assistant City Manager, Finance Director, Budget Manager, Senior Budget Analyst and Budget Analyst.
BUDGET DOCUMENT: The instrument used by the budget-making authority to present a comprehensive financial plan of operations to the City Commission.
BUDGET MESSAGE: The opening section of the budget from the City Manager which provides the City Commis¬sion and the public with a general summary of the most important aspects of the budget.
BUDGETARY CONTROL: The control or management of a government or enterprise in accordance with an ap¬proved budget for the purpose of keeping expenditures within the limitations of available appropriations and available revenues.
BUSINESS PLAN: A written document outlining how City resources will be applied to achieve the objectives determined by the Strategic Plan. The Business Plan includes specific action-oriented goals, work activities and performance measures for every City department and employee aligned with the Strategic Plan.
CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS: Physical assets, constructed or purchased, that have a minimum useful life of ten years and a minimum cost of $20,000. Capital improve¬ments typically involve physical assets such as build¬ing, streets, water and sewage systems and recreation¬al facilities.
CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT BUDGET: A budget including those approved capital improvements contained in the first year of the five-year Capital Improvement Program.
CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM (CIP): A comprehensive five-year schedule of capital improvements indicating priority as to urgency of need and ability to finance.
CAPITAL LEASE: An agreement conveying the right to use property, plant or equipment usually for a stated period of time where the lessee assumes all the risks and benefits of ownership.
CAPITAL OUTLAY: Equipment with a unit cost of $1,000 or more and an expected life of more than one year such as automobiles, typewriters and furniture.
CONTINGENCY FUNDS: A reserve fund to be used only in case of emergencies and upon the authorization of the City Commission.
CORONAVIRUS AID, RELIEF, AND ECONOMIC SECURITY ACT: Also known as the CARES Act. This is an economic stimulus bill passed by Congress in response to the economic fallout of the COVID – 19 pandemic in the United States.
COST ALLOCATION PLAN: A philosophy in which costs are allocated to the appropriate fund that is benefited by a service or department’s activity.
COVID-19: A highly contagious respiratory disease cause by a novel coronavirus.
DEBT SERVICE: The payment of principal and interest on borrowed funds.
DEPARTMENT: An organizational unit responsible for carrying out a major governmental function for one or more divisions.
DEPRECIATION: The decrease in value of physical assets due to use and the passage of time.
DISTINGUISHED BUDGET PRESENTATION PROGRAM: A voluntary program administered by the GFOA to encourage governments to issue well-organized and readable budget documents and to provide peer recognition and technical assistance to the finance officers and their staffs.
DIVISION: A major administrative organizational unit of the City, which indicates overall management respon¬sibility for one or more activities.
ENCUMBRANCES: Obligations incurred in the form of purchase orders, contracts and similar items that will become payable when goods are delivered or services rendered.
ENTERPRISE FUND: A fund established to account for operations, which are financed and operated in a simi¬lar manner to private business where the intent is that the cost of providing the service is financed or recovered primarily through user charges.
EXPENDITURE: The disbursement of appropriated funds to purchase goods and/or services.
FIDUCIARY FUND: A fund used to report assets held in trustee or agency capacity for others and cannot be used to support the government’s own programs. This category includes pension (and other employee benefit) trust funds, investment trust funds, private-purpose trust funds and agency funds.
FISCAL YEAR (FY): A twelve-month period designed as the budget year. The City's budget year begins Octo¬ber 1 and ends September 30 of the following calendar year.
FRANCHISE FEE: A fee paid by public service business¬es for use of City streets, alleys and property in providing their services to the citizens of a community. Services requiring franchises include electrici¬ty, telephone, natural gas and cable television.
FULL-TIME EQUIVALENT: Refers to the number of full-time positions budgeted for an accounting period, including part-time and seasonal employees converted to the decimal equivalent of a full-time position based on 2,080 hours per year.
FUND: A set of interrelated accounts to record reve¬nues and expenditures associated with a specific purpose.
FUND BALANCE: The difference between assets and liabili¬ties reported in a governmental fund.
GASB 34: Statement number 34 requires government-wide financial statements to be prepared using the accrual basis of accounting and the economic resources measurement focus.
GENERAL FUND: A fund containing revenues such as property taxes not designated by law for a special purpose. Some of the departments that are part of the General Fund include the Administrative Depart¬ments, Growth Management, Fire and Police Departments.
GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS: Debt issued by municipalities of which the payment of interest and principal is backed by the general tax revenue and credit of the issuing governmental unit.
GFOA: The Government Finance Officers Association is a professional association of federal, state/provincial, and local finance officers dedicated to the implementation and management of governmental financial resources and operations within their own jurisdictions.
GOVERNMENTAL FUNDS: Funds that account for governmental activities which are primarily supported by taxes and similar revenue sources. The acquisition, use, balances of the government’s expendable financial resources and related current liabilities are accounted for through governmental funds (General, Special Revenue, Capital Projects and Debt Service Funds).
HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION: A deduction from the total taxable assessed value of owner occupied property.
INTEREST INCOME: Revenue derived from the City’s cash management practices of investing fund balances.
INTERFUND TRANSFER: Amounts transferred from one fund to another.
INTERNAL SERVICE FUND: A fund established to account for an entity which provides goods and services to other City entities and charges those entities for the goods and services provided.
LIABILITIES: Debts or other legal obligations aris¬ing out of transactions in the past which must be liquidated, renewed or refunded at some future date.
MAJOR FUNDS: Funds which represent the major activities of the City and are presented as individual columns on the financial statements. Major fund reporting only applies to governmental funds and enterprise funds. The General Fund is a major fund. A fund must meet the criteria below to be defined as major. The total assets, liabilities, revenues or expenditures of the individual governmental or enterprise fund are at least 10 percent of the corresponding total for all funds in that category (governmental funds) or of that type (enterprise funds); and are at least 5 percent of the corresponding total for all governmental and enterprise funds combined.
MILLS: The tax rate on real property based on $1.00 per $1,000 of assessed property value.
MISSION STATEMENT: A statement that identifies the purpose, goals, and actions of the City.
MODIFIED ACCRUAL BASIS: The basis of accounting under which revenues are recognized when measurable and available to pay liabilities and expenditures are recognized when the liability is incurred, except for interest on long-term debt which is recognized when due, and the noncurrent portion of accrued vacation and sick leave which is recorded in general long-term debt.
NON-DEPARTMENTAL: Referring to activities, revenues and expenditures that are not assigned to a department.
NON-MAJOR FUNDS: Non-major funds are those that fail the test defining major funds in one or more aspects. Major funds have revenues, expenditures/expenses, assets or liabilities (excluding extraordinary items) that are at least 10% of corresponding totals for all governmental or enterprise funds and at least 5% of the aggregate amount for all government and enterprise funds for the same item.
OBJECTIVE: Something to be accomplished in specific, well-defined and measurable terms and that is achievable within a specified time.
OPERATING BUDGET: An annual financial plan that specifies the type and level of municipal services to be provided, while limiting through the appropriation process, the amount of money which can be spent.
OPERATING EXPENSES: These items include day-to-day expenses for personnel services, materials, supplies, utilities, consulting services and administrative expenses.
OUTPUTS: Performance measures of productivity and efficiency of services provided to monitor and measure the implementation of the City’s Strategic Plan (e.g., number of transactions per day).
PERFORMANCE MEASURES: Specific quantitative measures of work performed within an activity or program. They may also measure results obtained through an activity or program.
PRIVATIZATION: The outsourcing of a program or function to a business or non-governmental entity.
PROGRAM: An organized set of related work activities that are directed toward a common purpose or goal.
PROPERTY TAXES: Used to describe all revenues re¬ceived in a period from current taxes, delinquent taxes, penalties and interest on delinquent taxes. Property taxes are levied on both real and personal property according to the proper¬ty's valuation and tax millage rate.
PROPRIETARY FUND: A fund established to account for operations, which are financed and operated in a similar manner to private business where the intent is that the cost of providing the service is financed or recovered primarily through user charges.
RESERVES: A portion of the fund balance or retained earnings legally segregated for specific purposes.
RETAINED EARNINGS: The excess of assets over liabili¬ties of an enterprise or internal service fund.
REVENUE: Funds that the government receives as in¬come.
REVENUE BOND: Long-term borrowing which requires the City to pledge qualified non-ad valorem revenue in order to secure the debt. Voter approval is not required to issue a revenue bond.
SPECIAL REVENUE FUND: A fund established to account for the proceeds of specific revenue sources that are legally restricted to expenditures for specified purposes.
STRATEGIC PLAN: A document which is a collaboration of the City Commission, City Staff and community to create a shared Mission and Vision for the City. The Plan sets Strategic Priorities, establishes initiatives and performance measures to monitor and measure progress; and to move the community and City organization forward over the next three fiscal years.
SURPLUS: The unrestricted portion of Fund Balance or Retained Earnings.
TAX INCREMENT FINANCING: A funding source used in blighted areas designated by the City for redevelopment. The public improvements required for the project are financed with the incremental taxes generated by the increase in the assessed value of the new development.
UNAPPROPRIATED AND UNDESIGNATED FUND BALANCE: The unrestricted portion of the fund equity of a govern¬mental fund. Also referred to as surplus or reserve.
UNAPPROPRIATED AND UNRESERVED RETAINED EARNINGS: The unrestricted portion of the fund equity of an enterprise or internal service fund. Also referred to as surplus or reserve.