Page 437 - Bedford-FY22-23 Budget
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Char ter: The document of a home rule City which establishes the City's government structure and provides for the
City
distribution of duties and powers among the various branches of government.
City Council: The Mayor and six Council members collectively acting as the legislative and policymaking body of the City.
Consumer Price Index: The statistical measure of changes, if any, in the overall price level of consumer goods and services. The
index is often called the "cost-of-living index."
Cost-Bene{t Analysis: A decision-making tool that allows a comparison of options based on the level of bene t derived and
the cost to achieve the bene t from different alternatives.
Current Taxes: Taxes levied and due within one year.
Debt Burden: The amount of debt carried by an issuer usually expressed as a measure of value (i.e., debt as a percentage of
assessed value, debt per capita, etc.). Sometimes debt burden refers to debt service costs as a percentage of the total annual
budget.
Debt Ser vice: The repayment cost, usually stated in annual terms and based on an amortization schedule, of the principal and
interest on any particular bond issue.
Depar tment: A major administrative organizational unit of the City that indicates overall management responsibility for one or
more divisions.
Depreciation: (1) Expiration in service life of capital assets attributable to wear and tear, deterioration, action of the physical
elements, inadequacy or obsolescence. (2) That portion of the cost of a capital asset that is charged as an expense during a
particular period.
Program: A voluntary program administered by the Government Finance Of cers
Distinguished Budget Presentation
Association to encourage governments to publish ef ciently organized and easily readable budget documents and to provide
peer recognition and technical recommendations to the scal of cers 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.
Ef{ciency: A type of performance measure relating inputs to outputs to express ef ciency measures as costs per unit of output
and/or productivity per labor hour.
Encumbrance: A reservation of funds to cover obligations arising from purchase orders, contracts, or salary commitments that
are chargeable to, but not yet paid from, a speci c appropriation account.
Enterprise Funds: An enterprise fund is a separate accounting and nancial reporting mechanism for municipal services for
which a fee is charged in exchange for goods or services. It allows a community to demonstrate to the public the portion of
total costs of a service that is recovered through user charges and the portion that is subsidized by the tax levy, if any. With an
enterprise fund, all costs of service delivery--direct, indirect, and capital costs—are identi ed. This allows the community to
recover total service costs through user fees if it chooses. Enterprise accounting also enables communities to reserve the
"surplus" or net assets unrestricted generated by the operation of the enterprise rather than closing it out to the general fund
at year-end. Services that may be treated as enterprises include, but are not limited to, water, sewer, hospital, and airport
services.
Exemptions: A discharge, established by statute, from the obligation to pay all or a portion of a property tax. The exemption is
available to particular categories of property or persons upon the timely submission and approval of an application to the
assessors. Properties exempt from taxation include hospitals, schools, houses of worship, and cultural institutions. Persons who
may qualify for exemptions include disabled veterans, blind individuals, surviving spouses, and seniors.
Expenditure: An outlay of money made by municipalities to provide the programs and services within their approved budget.
Fiduciary Funds: Repository of money held by a municipality in a trustee capacity or as an agent for individuals, private
organizations, other governmental units, and other funds. These include pension (and other employee bene t) trust funds,
investment trust funds, private- purpose trust funds, and agency funds.
City of Bedford, TX | Adopted Budget FY 2023 Page 437

