| 4. Glossary
Appropriation:
legal authorization given by the County Commission
to make expenditures and incur obligations using
county funds.
Assessed Value:
the valuation of real property established by
the Property Appraiser as basis for levying
taxes.
Bond: a
special type of "loan" that provides
funding for capital projects. Local governments
are prohibited from borrowing funds to cover
standard operating expenses.
Capital:
refers to assets that are used over the course
of more than one fiscal year, such as equipment,
buildings, and infrastructure.
Capital budget:
first year of the capital program which includes
capital project appropriations and the revenues
required to support the project.
Capital plan:
compilation of all capital and infrastructure
requests which are not funded in the Capital
Program.
Debt service:
payments of principal and interest on outstanding
bonds.
Debt service fund:
used to track the accumulation of resources
for the payment of principal and interest related
to long-term debt.
Enterprise fund:
fund established to account for government operations
that are financed and operated like a private
business. This fund helps ensure that the full
cost of providing a service is paid for by the
charges and fees related to it, as these funds
generally do not receive property tax support.
Fiscal year:
the twelve-month financial period in which funds
are appropriated and accounted for by the County,
the county fiscal year begins October 1 and
ends September 30 of the following year. A fiscal
year is identified by the year in which it ends.
Fund: monies
set aside and accounted for separately in order
to ensure that the monies are spent for a specific
purpose.
Fund balance:
the balance remaining after accounting for all
liabilities and revenue incurred during that
year, plus the previous year's fund balance.
It is calculated at the end of each fiscal year.
General fund:
the main fund of the budget which contains revenue
used to provide services of general benefit
to taxpayers, such as animal control, libraries,
parks and the Constitutional Offices.
Homestead exemption:
deduction from the total taxable assessed value
of an owner-occupied property.
Internal service fund:
a fund established to account for goods and/or
services provided by one department or agency
within the government to another department
or agency. For example, the Health Plan for
county employees is administered through an
internal services fund.
Operating budget:
financial plan that presents proposed expenditures
for the fiscal year and estimates of revenue
to support them.
Personal services:
items of expenditures in the operating budget
for salaries and wages, including fringe benefit
costs such as FICA, retirement and the cafeteria
benefits program.
Reserves:
funds set aside for unanticipated expenditures
or future anticipated expenditures.
Revenue:
the taxes, fees, charges, special assessments,
grants and other funds collected and received
by the county in order to support the services
provided.
Rolled back millage
rate: the tax rate that will generate
the same tax dollars as in the prior fiscal
year; based on the new tax roll excluding new
construction.
Special assessment:
a fee charged to a specific group of properties
to defray part or all of the cost of a specific
service or improvement which primarily benefits
those properties, such as street lighting or
emergency medical services.
Tax base:
total value of land and property upon which
a taxing authority can levy taxes. The tax base
is often different from the total property value
in any area because some types of property,
like schools and government facilities, are
exempted from property taxes.
Value Adjustment Board:
settles disputes between property owners and
the Property Appraiser's Office regarding assessments,
classifications, and exemptions.
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