Page 451 - City of Bedford FY20 Approved Budget

Distinguished Budget Presentation Program: A voluntary program administered by the
Government Finance Officers Association to encourage governments to publish efficiently organized
and easily readable budget documents and to provide peer recognition and technical
recommendations to the fiscal officers preparing them.

Division: A major administrative organizational unit of the City that indicates overall management
responsibility for one or more activities.

Effectiveness: A type of performance measure relating to customer/client/public satisfaction with
quality, timeliness or other aspects of the service or product delivered.

Efficiency: A type of performance measure relating inputs to outputs to express efficiency measures
as costs per unit of output and/or productivity per labor hour.

Encumbrances: Obligations in the form of purchase orders, contracts, or salary commitments that
are chargeable to appropriation and for which part of the appropriation is reserved. When paid, the
encumbrance is liquidated.

Enterprise Fund: A fund established to account for operations that are financed and operated in a
manner similar to private business enterprises -- where the intent of the governing body is that the
costs of providing goods or services to the general public on a continuing basis be financed or
recovered primarily through user charges. (See also Proprietary Fund.)

Expenditures: The outflow of funds paid or to be paid for assets obtained or goods and services
obtained regardless of when the expense is actually paid.

Financial Policies: Financial policies are used to enable the City to achieve a sound financial
position. They are updated and endorsed by the City Council on an annual basis.

Fiscal Year: The time period designated by the City signifying the beginning and ending period for
recording financial transactions. The City of Bedford has designated this period to be October 1
through September 30.

Fund: An accounting device established to control receipt and disbursement of income from
sources set aside to support specific activities or attain certain objectives. Each fund is treated as a
distinct fiscal entity with a self-balancing set of accounts.

Fund Balance: The difference between a governmental fund’s assets and liabilities, divided into 5
categories: 1) Nonspendable, 2) Restricted, 3) Committed, 4) Assigned, 5) Unassigned. Portions of
the fund balance may be reserved for various purposes such as contingencies or encumbrances at the
end of the fiscal year.

Fund Type: In governmental accounting, all funds are classified into eight fund types: General,
Special Revenue, Debt Service, Capital Projects, Special Assessment, Enterprise, Internal Service,
and Trust and Agency.

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