Citizens' Guide to the Metro Budget

Glossary

Pay Plan
A schedule of classifications and their compensation patterns (assuming satisfactory performance) developed by the Metro Department of Human Resources or other valid body.
Performance Indicators
Specific quantitative and qualitative measures of work performed as an objective of the department. These may include measures of program achievement, demand for services, workload, efficiency, and effectiveness.
Personal Services
The cost of salaries, wages, longevity, shift differential, call pay, jury pay, overtime, and other special pay, but excluding fringe benefit costs.
Product
Products are countable deliverables that a customer receives from the agency. They things customers receive, not processes the agency does. “Circulating library books” is a process; a library book checked out is a product; “library book check-outs” measure what is delivered to customers.
Program
Programs are groups of products with a common purpose or result.
Property Tax
A general ad valorem tax levied on both Real and personal property according to the property's assessed valuation and the tax rate.
Reserve
In accounting, an account used to indicate that a portion of a fund's assets are legally restricted for a specific purpose and is, therefore, not available.
Results
Results are the benefit or impact that the customer and citizen experiences as a result of receiving the department’s products or deliverables. Results promote accountability.
Revenue
Funds that the government receives as income. It includes such items as tax payments, fees from specific services, receipts from other governments, fines, forfeitures, grants, shared revenues and interest income.
Revenue Object
A numerical code used to break down revenues into definable areas such as taxes, licenses, user fees, etc. The object account combines the business unit with the revenue object.