Page 537 - Bedford-FY24-25 Budget

Glossary

Abatement: A reduction or elimination of a real or personal property tax, motor vehicle excise, a fee, charge, or special
assessment imposed by a governmental unit. Granted only on application of the person seeking the abatement and only by
the committing governmental unit.

Accounting System: The total structure of records and procedures that identify record, classify, and report information on the
nancial position and operations of a governmental unit or any of its funds, account groups, and organizational components.

Accounting: A basis of accounting in which revenues are recognized in the accounting period in which they are
Accrual
earned, and expenses are recognized in the period in which they are incurred.

Accrued Interest: The amount of interest that has accumulated on the debt since the date of the last interest payment, and on
the sale of a bond, the amount accrued up to but not including the date of delivery (settlement date). (See Interest)

Ad Valorem Tax: A tax computed from the assessed valuation of land and improvements.

Amor tization: The gradual repayment of an obligation over time and in accordance with a predetermined payment schedule.

Appropriation: A legal authorization from the community's legislative body to expend money and incur obligations for speci c
public purposes. An appropriation is usually limited in amount and as to the time period within which it may be expended.

Ordinance: The of cial enactment by the City Council establishing the legal authority for City of cials to
Appropriation
obligate and expend resources.

Arbitrage: As applied to municipal debt, the investment of tax-exempt bonds or note proceeds in higher yielding, taxable
securities. Section 103 of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Code restricts this practice and requires (beyond certain limits) that
earnings be rebated (paid) to the IRS.

Arbitrage Rebate: A required payment to the taxing authority (Internal Revenue Service) due to the excessive yield earned on
the gross proceeds of debt, above the bond yield.

Assessed Valuation: A value assigned to real estate or other property by a government as the basis for levying taxes.

Assets: Resources owned or held by the City that have monetary value.

Audit: An examination of a community's nancial systems, procedures, and data by a certi ed public accountant (independent
auditor), and a report on the fairness of nancial statements and on local compliance with statutes and regulations. The audit
serves as a valuable management tool in evaluating the scal performance of a community.

Repor t: Prepared by an independent auditor, an audit report includes: (a) a statement of the scope of the audit; (b)
Audit
explanatory comments as to application of auditing procedures; (c) ndings and opinions. It is almost always accompanied by a
management letter which contains supplementary comments and recommendations.

Funds: Balances in the various fund types that represent non-recurring revenue sources. As a matter of sound
Available
practice, they are frequently appropriated to meet unforeseen expenses, for capital expenditures or other one-time costs.

Budget: A budget adopted by the legislative body and authorized by ordinance where proposed expenditures are
Balanced
equal to or less than the proposed revenues.

Sheet: A statement that discloses the assets, liabilities, reserves and equities of a fund or governmental unit at a
Balance
speci ed date.

Bond: A means to raise money through the issuance of debt. A bond issuer/borrower promises in writing to repay a speci ed
sum of money, alternately referred to as face value, par value or bond principal, to the buyer of the bond on a speci ed future
date (maturity date), together with periodic interest at a speci ed rate. The term of a bond is always greater than one year. (See
Note)

Register): The permanent and complete record maintained by a treasurer for each bond
Bond and Interest Record (Bond
issue. It shows the amount of interest and principal coming due each date and all other pertinent information concerning the
bond issue.

City of Bedford, TX | Adopted Budget FY 2024-2025 Page 537