Page 352 - FY 2025 Adopted Operating Budget and Business Plan

Appendices Return to Table of Contents

GLOSSARY OF TERMS (CONTINUED)
Performance Measures: Quantitative measure of a program’s effectiveness or efficiency (e.g., average time to

dispatch an emergency 911 call). Often used in conjunction with workload measures (e.g., number of emergency 911 calls
received) to evaluate and revise resource allocation strategies.

Position Control: The initiative to fund, monitor and maintain only the number of positions authorized by City Council
in any given budget year.

Priority: Certain outcomes that have been selected for a higher level of attention and effort by the City Council

Program: An organized set of related work activities which are directed toward a common purpose or goal and represent
a well-defined expenditure of City resources.

Program Budget: A budget which structures budget choices and information in terms of programs and their related
activities, (i.e., repairing roads, treating water, etc.), provides information on what each program is committed to accomplish in
the long run (goals) and in the short run (objectives), and measures the degree of achievement of program objectives
(performance measures).

Program Description: Outlines the function of the program, the various activities involved in the program and other
pertinent information about the program. It answers the question, “what does this program do?”

Program Goal: A general statement on the intended effect or purpose of the program’s activities. It includes terms such
as: to provide (a service), to supply (a given need), to control, reduce, or eliminate (an occurrence), to maintain (standards), or
to maximize (quality). A goal is not limited to a one-year time frame and should generally not change from year to year. A goal
statement describes the essential reason for the program’s existence.

Program Objectives: Objectives are statements of the intended beneficial and/or tangible effects of a program’s
activities. They are measurable and related to the proposed budget year. They are specific targets toward which a manager
can plan, schedule work activities, and make staff assignments. Objectives should quantifiably be addressed in terms such as:
to increase an activity, to maintain a service level, to reduce the incidence, or to eliminate a problem.

Project: Discrete tasks accomplished by Departments on a one-time basis.

Proprietary Funds: A class of fund types that account for a local government’s businesslike activities.

Reserve: An account used to indicate that a portion of fund equity is legally restricted for a specific purpose.

Revenue: Funds that the government receives as income. It includes such items as tax payments, fees from specific
services, receipts from other governments, fines and forfeitures, licenses and permits, and interest income.

Salary and Benefits Schedule (SBS): The table of salaries and associated benefits costs for all budgeted
positions citywide. This report is used largely to aid in the development of the City’s annual operating budget and is used also
for the purpose of Position Control.

Special Revenue Fund: A fund used to account for revenues legally earmarked for a particular purpose.

Street Maintenance Fund: Primarily support by ¼ cent sales tax first approved by the voters of Arlington in
September 2002. Other sources include a transfer from the General Fund.

Tax Rate: The amount of tax levied for each $100 of assessed valuation. The FY 2023 tax rate for the City of Arlington is
59.98¢.

FY 2025 Adopted Budget and Business Plan 343 City of Arlington, Texas