Citizens' Guide to the Metro Budget
Glossary
- Debt Service Fund
- A fund established to account for the accumulation of resources for, and the payment of, general long-term debt principal and interest.
- Deficit
- The excess of the liabilities of a fund over its assets.
- The excess of expenditures over revenues during an accounting period; or, in the case of proprietary funds, the excess of expense over income during an accounting period.
- Department
- A major administrative division of Metro reflecting overall management responsibility for an operation or a group of related operations within a functional area. Identities the highest level in the formal Metro organization in which a specific activity is carried out. For budgetary purposes, the word "department" includes boards, commissions, agencies, and elected offices.
- District
An area of the county that receives certain services and pays a property tax rate related to those services. The General Services District (GSD) is all of Davidson County, and receives county-wide services. The Urban Services District (USD) is the former City of Nashville plus annexed areas; it is an area within and overlapping part of the GSD. In the illustrationat right, the USD is the shaded area within the GSD.- Encumbrances
- The commitment of appropriated funds to purchase an item or service. To encumber funds means to set aside or commit funds for a future expenditure.
- Enterprise Fund
- A fund established to account for operations that are financed and operated in such a way that the costs of providing goods or services to the general public on a continuing basis is financed or recovered primarily through user charges. Examples in Metro are the Convention Center Fund and the Farmers' Market Fund.
- Estimated Revenue
- The amount of projected revenue to be collected during the fiscal year.
- Expenditures
- Decreases in net financial resources. Expenditures include current operating expenses that require the current or future use of net current assets, debt service, and capital outlays. This term designates the cost of goods delivered or services rendered, whether paid or unpaid, including expenses, provision for debt retirement not reported as a liability of the fund from which retired, and capital outlays. See also "Encumbrances".