Page 327 - Watauga FY22-23 Budget

GLOSSARY OF TERMS

Contingency: A budgetary reserve set-aside for emergencies or unforeseen expenditures not
otherwise budgeted.

Contractual Services: The cost related to services performed for the City by individuals, business,
or utilities.

Crime Control and Prevention District: The State Legislature in 1989 allowed certain cities and
counties to establish a district and impose a local sales tax to fund its programs. Since that time,
eligibility has been extended.

Current Refunding: A refunding transaction in which the proceeds of the refunding debt are
applied immediately to redeem the debt to be refunded.

Current Taxes: Property taxes that are levied and due within one year.

Debt Service: The City’s obligation to pay the principal and interest of all bonds and other debt
instruments according to a pre-determined payment schedule.

Debt Service Fund: A fund established to account for the accumulation of resources for the
payment of principal and interest on long term debt. May also be called Interest and Sinking Fund
(I & S).

Delinquent Taxes: Taxes that remain unpaid on and after the date for which penalty for non-
payment is attached.

Department: A major administrative organizational unit of the City, which indicates overall
management responsibility for one or more divisions.

Depreciation: The portion of the cost of a fixed asset charged as an expense during a particular
period. In accounting for depreciation, the cost of a fixed asset, less any salvage value, is prorated
over the estimated service life of such an asset. Through this process, the entire cost of the asset
is ultimately charged off as an expense.

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

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

Economic Development Corporation (EDC): A corporation established for the focus of economic
development within the City.

Effectiveness: The degree to which an entity, program, or procedure is successful at achieving its
goals and objectives.

Efficiency: The degree to which an entity, program, or procedure is successful at achieving its
goals and objectives with the least use of scarce resources.

Encumbrances: Obligations in the form of purchase orders and contracts, which are chargeable to
an appropriation and for which a part of the appropriation is reserved because the goods or
services have not been received. When paid, the encumbrance is liquidated.

318