Page 442 - Southlake FY20 Budget

Budget Glossary
Appendix

BUDGET GLOSSARY

Encumbrance: The commitment of appropriated funds to purchase an item or service.

Enterprise Fund: A type of proprietary fund containing the activities of funds where the intent is for the direct
beneficiaries to pay for all costs of the fund through fees, or where a periodic determination of revenues and expenses
is desired by management.

Effective Tax Rate: Tax rate that will generate the same amount of property tax dollars as the previous year, excluding
new construction and annexations, when the two years are compared.

Expenditures: Where accounts are kept on the accrual or modified accrual basis of accounting, the costs of goods
received or services rendered whether cash payments have been made or not. Where accounts are kept on a cash
basis, expenditures are recognized only when the cash payments for the above purposes are made.

F

Fiscal Year: Any yearly accounting period, without regard to its relationship to a calendar year. The fiscal year for the
City of Southlake begins on October 1 and ends on September 30.

Fixed Assets: Assets of a long-term character, which are intended to continue to be held or used, such as land, buildings,
improvements other than buildings, machinery and equipment.

Franchise: A special privilege granted by a government permitting the continuing use of public property, such as city
streets, and usually involving the elements of monopoly and regulation.

FTE: Acronym which stands for Full-time Equivalent. A numerical expression which indicates the amount of time
a position has been budgeted for. A position budgeted at 40 hours per week for 12 months equals 1.0 FTE. Other
frequently budgeted levels are 20 hours per week (.5 FTE) to show a position that has been split between two funds
because the employee’s responsibilities directly affect two funds.

Fund: An accounting entity with its own self-balancing set of accounts recording cash and/or other sources of revenues
against expenditures for specific activities.

Fund Balance: The excess of an entity’s assets over its liabilities in a particular fund. A negative fund balance is
sometimes called a deficit.

G

GAAP: Stands for Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, which are accounting and reporting standards used for
both private industry and government.

GASB: Government Accounting Standards Board regulates the rules and standards for all governmental units.

General Fund: The City’s principal operating fund, which is supported by taxes, fees, and other revenues that may be

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