Would you like to view this page in desktop format? Yes No

Side Navigation Menu

Header

Back To Top

City of Jacksonville

Navigation

Glossary

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

2010 Plan. Adopted in July 1980 to encourage the most appropriate use of resources consistent with the public interest.

-A-

ACTIVITY. The basic organizational unit for budgetary and accounting purposes, which often closely follows operational structure.

ADJUSTMENT FOR ACCRUAL. The adjustment to salaries and wages shown on the personnel services schedules which provides funding for the net difference in days between fiscal year-end accrual and reversal adjustments.

AD VALOREM TAX REVENUE. Revenue generated by placing a tax on the value of real, personal, and centrally assessed property that is subject to taxation, as defined by Florida Statutes.

ANNUAL BUDGET. A budget applicable to a single fiscal year.

ANNUAL BUDGET ORDINANCE. The ordinance that appropriates funds and adopts operating budgets for the general government and its independent agencies for the fiscal year beginning on October 1. The annual budget ordinance establishes the original budget for virtually all programs that are a permanent part of the City of Jacksonville, outlines compliance with state law and applicable bond covenants, establishes reserve accounts and certain other accounts that require legislative control, and may include amendments to the existing Municipal Code.

APPROPRIATION. Authorization granted by the City Council, through means of an adopted ordinance, which allows for expenditures or obligations that lead to expenditures for specific purposes. Appropriations, unless specifically stated otherwise, are limited to the current fiscal year.

ARRA. American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

ASSISTANCE TO GOVERNMENT AGENCIES. Contributions from the general fund to independent authorities of the Consolidated City of Jacksonville.

ASSISTANCE TO PRIVATE ORGANIZATIONS. Contributions from the general fund (and one from the Alcohol Rehabilitation Trust Fund) to private nonprofit or not-for-profit community organizations. All such contributions are approved by the City Council as public service grants.

AVAILABLE FOR LOSSES. Expense accounts used only by Self-Insurance funds for certain claims, case reserves, and catastrophic losses.

-B-

BETTERMENT. An enhancement that allows for the expansion of services beyond the scope that had been provided in prior periods.

BJP. Better Jacksonville Plan.

BONDED DEBT. The portion of City indebtedness represented by outstanding bonds.

BPREP. The budgeting software system that is used.

BT. Budget transfer actions that are beyond the Mayor's transfer powers and require City Council approval.

BUDGET. A fiscal plan of operation. The budget consists of proposed expenditures and proposed revenues together with specific authorizations and restrictions as appropriate. It also includes not only the proposed fiscal plan but the current and prior fiscal period history. The budget quantifies executive and legislative objectives and provides a quantitative means for measurement of performance. As a guideline for operations, the budget changes over time in response to changes in conditions. Finally, the budget embodies public policy and provides insights into how that policy will be implemented.

BUDGETARY CONTROL. Requirement established by executive policy wherein any amendments to the originally adopted budget must be approved by the Mayor and/or the Council.

BUDGET MESSAGE. An executive level overview of the proposed budget delivered by the Mayor to the City Council. It discusses the major city issues and the proposed means of dealing with them, highlights key experiences during the current fiscal year, and indicates how current and proposed budgetary plans will meet the City's objectives. The Mayor's budget message is normally the first comprehensive public statement of the City's plans for the upcoming fiscal year.

BUILDINGS. A capital outlay account used for costs of acquiring and improving buildings.

-C-

CAFR. Comprehensive Annual Financial Report.

CPAC. Citizen Planning Advisory Committee

CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS. Buildings, infrastructure, and other attachments or annexations to land and facilities that are intended to remain so attached or annexed. Capital improvements also includes land acquisition.

CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM (CIP). A five-year program adopted annually that is used for planning and controlling capital improvements and major capital outlay projects (those estimated to cost $100,000 or more, and which have useful lives of at least ten years). It outlines, by project within responsible agency, the recommended and approved priorities, sources of financing, planning and construction horizons, and projected costs. The City's capital improvement program, which also includes the independent authorities, is adopted by a separate ordinance, and the corresponding document is published separately from the annual budget.

CAPITAL OUTLAY. An expenditure to acquire or add to a fixed asset. Items acquired for less than $1,000, unless they result from gifts or grants and have a higher fair market value, are not considered capital outlay.

CAPITAL PROJECTS FUND. A fund used to acquire or construct major capital facilities (other than those financed by proprietary funds, special assessment funds, or similar type trust funds).

CASE RESERVES. Accounts used only by Self-Insurance funds, which are reservations of available funds for unresolved claims.

CASH CARRYOVER. A reserve appropriation intended to provide fund equity for the ensuing fiscal year.

CCAS. Conditional Capacity Availability Statement.

CDBG. Community Development Block Grant

CENTRAL SERVICES. User charges for services provided by the internal service activities of the City.

CHDO. Community Housing Development Organizations

CLASSIFIED POSITION. Position within the Civil Service System which has, under the direction of the Personnel Director, been defined by a class specification, and assigned an appropriate pay grade and title.

CMSO. Concurrency Management System Office.

COMPENSATED ABSENCES. City employees may accumulate limited amounts of earned personal leave benefits. This liability reflects amounts attributable to employee services already rendered, cumulative, probably for payment, and reasonably estimated.

COMPONENT UNIT. A legally separate organization for which elected officials for the primary government are financially accountable. In addition, a component unit can be another organization for which the nature and significance of its relationship with a primary government is such that exclusion would cause the reporting entity's financial statements to be misleading or incorrect.

CONSTRUCTION. A capital outlay account used for major capital improvement construction projects.

CONSUMER PRICE INDEX. An index of items used to measure the change in prices over time.

CONTINGENCY. An account used to identify and segregate a portion of available funds that are inappropriate for expenditure or are earmarked for a specific future use. Any expenditure (or expense) account that requires Council action for its use is termed a contignecy account.

CONTRIBUTIONS TO OTHER FUNDS. Contributions and operating transfers made to another fund of the City.

COSTS CAPITALIZED. Charges attendant to the acquisition of a fixed asset, such as freight or installation, that may be reflected as part of the acquisition cost and depreciated over the life of the asset. The accounts are used only in proprietary and similar trust funds that recognize depreciation expense.

CRC. Concurrency Reservation Certificate.

CURRENT LEVEL OVERTIME. Additional salary funding for certain activities that normally require some periodic use of employee overtime.

-D-

DCSB. Duval County School Board

DCHFA. Duval County Housing Finance Authority. Now called the Jacksonville Housing Finance Authority.

DEBT. An obligation resulting from the borrowing of money or from the purchase of goods and services. Debt instruments used by the City of Jacksonville are limited to general obligation bonds, limited obligation revenue bonds, bond anticipation notes, and tax anticipation notes. All debt instruments must be authorized by the City Council.

DEBT SERVICE FUND. A fund used for payment of general long-term debt principal and interest.

DEBT SERVICE REQUIREMENT. The amount of money necessary for payment of outstanding debt, both principal and interest due during the fiscal period, and amounts that may be required for the future retirement of term bonds.

DEPARTMENT. A division of the City having a specialized function and personnel.

DIVISION. A distinct or separate function within a department.

DDA. Downtown Development Authority.

DIFFERENTIAL PAY. Funding for shift differential to which certain employees are entitled, based upon provisions included in the bargaining unit contracts.

DRI. Developments of Regional Impact.

-E-

EDUCATIONAL INCENTIVE PAY. Additional salary compensation paid to qualified police officers and firefighters after they have completed state approved specialized vocational courses.

ELM. Environmental Landscape Management.

EMPLOYEE BENEFITS. The attendant position costs for the City's portion of payroll taxes, pension contributions, deferred compensation, and life and health insurance premiums.

ENCUMBRANCE. A commitment to expend funds for goods or services that have not been fully executed and thus requires that funds be reserved for future use. Unless specifically liquidated or otherwise canceled, the reserved funds carry over to succeeding fiscal years; however expenditure must be for the same purpose for which the encumbrance was originally established.

ENTERPRISE FUND. A fund used to account for continuing operations that provide services to the general public that are similar to private business enterprises in nature, and where the intent is that the costs will be recovered primarily through user charges. Enterprise funds may also be used to account for activities where the periodic determination of revenues and expenses is appropriate for capital maintenance, management control, or other public policy.

EPA SECTION 105 GRANT. This grant is derived from the Federal 1970 Clean Air Act and is designed to provide local programs with funding in order to maintain air pollution control activities.

EXPENDITURE. A decrease in net financial resources caused by current personnel cost, operating costs, debt service and/or capital outlay. Unless stated otherwise, expenditure means budgetary expenditure, which is a decrease in net current assets, and which applies only to governmental and expendable trust fund operations.

EXPENSE. A decrease in net total assets. Expenses represent the total cost of operations (including depreciation) during a fiscal period, regardless of the timing of actual transactions. Expenses apply to proprietary and nonexpendable and pension trust funds.

EXPENSE CREDIT. The only expense credit that is part of the original budget is one within the R-O-W and Ground Maintenance (formerly Streets and Highways) operating budget to offset their labor and material costs for various bridge, roadway, and drainage improvements that are also budgeted as nondepartmental capital outlay projects.

-F-

FAMIS. Financial Accounting Management Information System.

FGFOA. Florida Government Finance Officers Association is an association to promote and improve the quality of financial accountability, management and communication by and for all governmental units in the State of Florida.

FISCAL YEAR. The annual period applicable to the annual operating budget. The City's standard fiscal year runs from October 1 through September 30. Certain activities of the City, primarily state and federal grant programs that may be separate from the annual budget, are required to be accounted for on different fiscal years.

FRANCHISE. A special privilege granted by ordinance that permits the continuing use of municipal property (such as public streets or rights-of-way) for the delivery of regulated public services. Franchises are normally granted on a fee basis to a single private utility provider.

FULL COST ALLOCATION. Method designed to recover indirect costs from non general fund activities for the administration of specific General Fund services provided to those activities.

FUND. A fiscal and accounting entity that is comprised of a self-balancing set of accounts that reflect all assets, liabilities, equity, revenue, and expenditures (or expenses) necessary to disclose financial position and the results of operations. Funds are established as individual entities in order to segregate financial records for purposes of legal compliance, different natures of the activities performed, measurement of different objectives, and to facilitate management control. Generally, the number of individual funds is kept to the lowest number that allows effective and efficient management, with activities that are similar in nature and purpose accounted for in the same fund.

FUND BALANCE. The unused balance of governmental funds and expendable trust funds, which includes certain reservations of funds established for control purposes. Fund balance is not equivalent to 'net worth'.

FUND TYPE. All City funds fall into 11 standard generic fund types within three categories. Governmental funds include: General, Special Revenue, Debt Service, Capital Projects, and Component Units. Proprietary funds include: Enterprise and Internal Service. Fiduciary funds include Pension Trust, Private-purpose Trust, Investment Trust and Agency. Not all funds are subject to annual appropriation.

-G-

GAAP. Generally accepted accounting principles.

GASB. Governmental Accounting Standards Board.

GENERAL FUND. The fund used to account for both general government activities and those activities not required to be accounted for in another fund.

GENERAL REVENUE. The revenue of a government other than that derived from and retained in an enterprise fund.

GENERAL SERVICES DISTRICT (GSD). Subfund within the fund type - General Fund, which accounts for those governmental services pertaining to the consolidated City of Jacksonville.

GFOA. Government Finance Officers Association.

GIS. Geographical Information System.

GRANTS. Contributions or gifts of cash or other assets from another government (usually state or federal agencies) that are normally restricted to expenditure or use for a specified purpose, activity or facility.

-H-

HOLIDAY BUYBACK. Additional compensation for certain employees who are covered by police and fire bargaining unit agreements, which is paid for holidays worked and not offset by a corresponding day off at a later date.

HOPWA. Housing Opportunities For Persons with AIDS

HUD. US Department of Housing and Urban Development

-I-

IMPROVEMENTS OTHER THAN BUILDINGS. A capital outlay account used for infrastructure and other permanent improvements, other than buildings, that add value to land. Examples include fences, sidewalks, and gutters.

INDIRECT COST. Administrative and overhead costs attendant to the performance of a service that are not considered to be an integral part of that service. As used by the City, indirect costs pertain primarily to allowable charges for state and federal grant programs and internal service funds.

INF. Information reviews.

INSURANCE COVERAGES. Premium costs for vehicle and general liability insurance, and special coverages for major items of equipment. Worker's compensation and other insurance associated with employees is accounted for in Employee Benefits.

INTEREST. An account used to reflect the interest payments on debt obligations. Interest payments for installment purchases or other non-debt obligations are accounted for in the Other Services ;amp; Charges account.

INTERGOVERNMENTAL REVENUE. Revenue received from other governments in the form of grants, entitlements, or shared revenues; charges for services are not included.

INTERNAL SERVICE FUND. A fund used to account for the financing of goods or services provided by one department to other departments or agencies of the City, or to other governments, on a reimbursable basis.

INTERFUND CHARGES. Charges for services rendered by a non internal service activity to a user within a different subfund.

INTRAFUND CHARGES. Charges for services rendered by a non internal service activity to a user within the same subfund.

IRMDC. International Relations and Marketing Development Commission.

ITP (Information Technology Planning). A five-year technology spending/funding strategy.

-J-

JAA. Jacksonville Aviation Authority

JACKSONVILLE CHILDREN'S COMMISSION (JCC). Autonomous board established to plan and implement all programs related to children's services.

JCDC. Jacksonville Capital Development Company.

JEA. Jacksonville Electrical Authority.

JEDC. Jacksonville Economic Development Commission.

JHFA. Jacksonville Housing Finance Authority.

JIA. Jacksonville International Airport

JPA. Jacksonville Port Authority.

JSEB. Jacksonville Small and Emerging Business.

JTA. Jacksonville Transit Authority.

JUATS. Jacksonville Urban Area Transportation Survey.

-K-

-L-

'LAID ON THE TABLE.' The display of the Proposed Budget Book, with amendments, by the Council Finance Committee, for a period of time (at least seven days) for the purpose of allowing the public an opportunity for review prior to the full council public hearing before final approval of the budget ordinance.

LAPSE. In an effort to contain costs, a certain percentage less than full funding may be budgeted, usually in the areas of salaries and benefits. This decrease is normally absorbed through vacancies or attrition.

LEVY. A compulsory charge in the form of taxes, special assessments, or service charges, for the support of governmental activities.

LONG-TERM DEBT. Debt with a maturity of more than one year after the date of issuance.

-M-

MBRC – MAYOR'S BUDGET REVIEW COMMITTEE. A standing executive committee that is comprised of eight voting members made up of the Chief Administrative Officer, Deputy Chief Administrative Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Administrative Aides to the Mayor.

MILLAGE RATE. The ad valorem tax rate expressed in terms of the levy per thousand dollars of taxable assessed value.

MOBILE EQUIPMENT. A capital outlay account used for vehicles, trailers, water/aircraft and rolling stock.

MPO. Metropolitan Planning Organization.

-N-

NEIGHBORHOOD MATCHING GRANTS. Small grants, not more than $5,000 each, designed to give assistance to specific neighborhood projects that will promote a stronger and healthier community by encouraging neighbors to work together for a common purpose. The match must include 25 percent volunteer labor.

NON-CASH EXPENDITURES. Expenses not directly involving cash transactions; almost entirely depreciation expense, which is not budgeted.

NONDEPARTMENTAL. Functions and accounts that are not directly related to a department's primary service activities or are separate from departmental operations for control purposes.

NON REVENUES. Proprietary fund revenue that is incidental to, or a by-product of, the fund's primary service activities.

-O-

OBJECT. A budgetary and accounting classification that is the basic level for line item budgetary reporting and control. Objects include goods and services with similar characteristics, such as employee benefits or supplies.

OPERATING INCOME. The excess of operating revenue over operating expenses, before interfund transfers, interest, and other adjustments not directly related to operations. The concept of operating income applies only to enterprise, internal service and nonexpendable and pension trust funds.

ORDINANCE. A formal legislative enactment by the City Council that implements or amends local law. Any budgetary change that affects total appropriations, levies, use of reserved appropriations, personnel authorizations by fund, or duties and powers of appointed officials requires an ordinance.

-P-

PAID LOSS. Claims paid by the Self-Insurance funds.

PENSIONS PAID. Annual payments made from the General Fund to retirees, in addition to their pension payments, which are established in the Annual Budget Ordinance.

POW. Plan of work.

PREMIUMS PAID IN CARRIERS. Insurance premiums paid by the Self-Insurance funds to commercial carriers for catastrophic excess coverages and minor specialized coverages.

PRINCIPAL. An account used to reflect the principal payments on debt obligations.

PSG. Public Service Grant given to nonprofit organization.

-Q-

-R-

RC. A standard personnel reclassification form used for any proposed transfer of authorized positions or part-time hours or for requesting establishment of additional positions or hours.

RENTALS. An account used for the rental of land or buildings not owned by the City. Temporary rental of equipment is accounted for in the Other Services ;amp; Charges account.

RESERVE FOR DEBT SERVICE. An account used to segregate a portion of available funds that are legally restricted to the payment of general long-term debt principal and interest maturing in future years.

RETAINED EARNINGS. An account that reflects accumulated net earnings (or losses) of a proprietary or similar trust fund. As in the case of fund balance, retained earnings may include certain reservations of fund equity. Retained earnings also differs from 'net worth' primarily because contributed capital is accounted for separately.

REVENUE BONDS. Bonds whose principal and interest are payable from pledged revenue sources, and which are not legally backed by the full faith and credit of the City. Revenue bonds may be authorized by the City Council without voter approval.

REVENUE. An increase in net current assets from other than expenditure (or expense) refunds and residual equity transfers. For proprietary and similar trust funds, revenue also includes net increases in other assets and excludes capital contributions. Proceeds from long-term debt and operating transfers-in are classified as other financing sources.

-S-

S.A.F.E. Safe Accessible Flexible Enrichment program providing afterschool enrichment and recreation for older children.

SALARY EQUALIZATION. An activity level adjustment to salaries that is sometimes required due to system restrictions. It is used most often when the projected salary for a position that is being added or deleted is incorrect.

SINKING FUNDS. Unbudgeted accounts used in certain enterprise subfunds for control purposes related to debt service payments.

SJRWMD. St. John's River Water Management District.

SMG. A private company whose function is the development and management of public assembly facilities, including stadiums, arenas, theaters and exhibition/convention centers. SMG operates several facilities under long-term contracts or leases with the City and assume full responsibility for financial and operating management. The company was previously known as Spectacor Management Group but changed their name to SMG.

SPECIAL ASSESSMENT. A compulsory levy made against certain properties to recover all or part of the cost of an improvement or service that primarily benefits those properties.

SPECIAL REVENUE FUND. A fund used to account for the proceeds of specific revenue sources (other than special assessments, expendable trusts, or for capital projects) that are legally restricted to expenditure for specified purposes.

SUBFUND. A budgetary and accounting entity that is a division of a fund. Although the fund level is where all pertinent accounts must be self-balancing, most subfunds of the City are also self-balancing.

SUBOBJECT. The most basic level of formal budgetary detail for both revenue and expenditures, such as pension contributions within the employee benefits object.

SUPERVISION ALLOCATED. Charges based upon the prorated allocation of the cost of a supervision activity to the other activities within that department which it supervises.

-T-

TAX ANTICIPATION NOTES. Short-term debt issued in anticipation of the collection of ad valorem taxes that are receivable only from the ad valorem tax collections.

TAXES. Compulsory charges levied by a government for the purpose of financing services performed for the common benefit. Taxes levied by the City of Jacksonville are approved by the City Council and are within limits determined by the state.

TAX INCREMENT DISTRICT (TID or TIF). Financing district that segregates the ad valorem tax generated by the increase in property values in that district over a base year. These funds are appropriated solely for infrastructure improvements and redevelopment programs within that district.

TD. Transfer directive used to transfer budgeted appropriations from one object account to another, within the authorized transfer power of the Mayor.

TEMPORARY HOURS. Part-time employees who are paid on an hourly basis. Authorization for use of such employee is based upon budgeted hours.

TID. Tax increment districts or Tax increment finance districts

TIF. Tax increment districts or Tax increment finance districts

TIP. Transportation Improvement Program.

TITLE V CONTRACT. Contract with the State to permit major sources that emit hazardous air pollutants above a threshold amount. Contract is also to used address inspections and ambient monitoring as they relate to major source polluters.

TRANSFERS TO FIXED ASSETS. A mechanism that removes capital outlay expenses from the operating budgets of proprietary and similar trust funds, while allowing line item control over capital outlay accounts.

T.R.I.M. The TRuth In Millage advertisement required by Florida State Statutes in Chapter 200. It is required to be placed in a newspaper of general paid circulation in the county published at least five days a week with general interest and readership in the community. The ad content is defined by the statutes to clearly state the exact millage that will be charged to property owners for each unit of the government for the coming year.

TRUST FUNDS. Funds used to account for assets held by the City in a trustee capacity for individuals, private organizations, other governments, or other funds.

-U-

UNALLOCATED SALARIES. A mechanism which will set aside portions of budgeted salaries when a worker's compensation claim is paid. Worker's compensation claims are paid by the Worker's Compensation activity of Self-Insurance, which then frees for other uses a corresponding amount in the salary account of the claimant's activity. Use of the moneys transferred to the Unallocated Salaries account will require approval by the Mayor.

UNITARY CAP. Accounts for all positions authorized within the budget irrespective of fund location or position classification.

UPWP. United Planning Work Program.

USD 1. Urban Services District 1 is that portion of the General Fund that accounts for services and obligations which pertain only to the preconsolidated City of Jacksonville.

USD 2-5. Urban Services Districts established at the time of consolidation when the cities of Jacksonville Beach, Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach and the town of Baldwin elected to retain local autonomy for certain municipal purposes.

USER FEE. Fee charged for the use of certain municipal services.

USGS. United States Geological Survey.

-V-

VACANCY POOL. Pool of unfunded full-time equivalent positions that can be moved to any area within the executive departments at the pleasure of the Mayor.

VPAC. Vested Property Affirmation Certificate.

-W-

-X-

-Y-

-Z-

ZERO BASE BUDGETING - PROGRAM REVIEW. Preparation of the budget at the program level. Programs are broken down into decision packages and assigned a priority ranking within the department. After ranking, the packages are costed out, providing decision makers with information on programmatic structure, relative priority and resource dedicated to the program. Program review is currently undertaken by two or three departments each year.

Footer

Back To Page Top