Glossary

Plain-language definitions for the budget terms used on these pages.

Adopted Budget: The adopted budget is the annual City operating budget approved by the City Council for the fiscal year.
Appropriation: An authorization by the City Council to make expenditures and to incur obligations for a specific purpose within a specific time frame.
Balanced Budget: The budget for a fund is balanced when total budgeted resources, including revenues, transfers in from other funds, and unallocated fund balance from previous years, meet or exceed total budgeted use of resources, including expenditures and transfers out to other funds.
Budget Uncertainty Reserve: The Budget Uncertainty Reserve is intended to offset revenue shortfalls resulting from future economic downturns and unanticipated cost increases (including increases in fuel and utility prices and increases to CalPERS pension contribution requirements resulting from changes in actuarial assumptions, poor investment performance, or updated demographic data).
California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS): The retirement system, administered by the State of California, to which all regular City employees belong.
Capital Improvement Program (CIP): The five-year financial plan for improving assets and integrating debt service and capital assets maintenance, adopted in a separate budget document and updated every two years.
Citywide Savings: A line in the General Fund summary that lowers total spending by an amount the City expects to go unspent, “to reflect the City’s historical experience of under-spending total allocated resources, primarily due to salary savings from vacant positions.”
Contingency Reserve: The General Fund Contingency Reserve is intended to mitigate the effects of unanticipated situations such as natural disasters and severe unforeseen events, as well as serving as backup liquidity to the Risk Management Fund if this need were to arise.
Cost Center: Cost centers are funds established to account for the transactions and activities related to specific City services, and the fees are used for the benefit of the fee payers. The Development Cost Center, for example, is a fund that accounts for services related to planning, engineering, and inspection of public and private development construction projects.
Debt Service: Payment of the principal and interest on an obligation resulting from the issuance of bonds, notes, or certificates of participation (COPs).
Fiscal Year: A twelve-month period of time to which a budget applies. In Fremont, the fiscal year is July 1 through June 30.
Fund: An independent fiscal and accounting entity with a self-balancing set of accounts, used to record all financial transactions related to the specific purpose for which the fund was created.
Fund Balance: The difference between fund assets and fund liabilities.
General Fund: The primary fund of the City used to account for all revenues and expenditures of the City not legally restricted as to use. This fund is used to accumulate the cost of the City’s general operations.
Hotel/Motel Occupancy Tax: A tax imposed on travelers who stay in temporary lodging facilities within the City. Also referred to as a Transient Occupancy Tax.
Infrastructure: Facilities on which the continuance and growth of the community depend, such as roads, sidewalks, parks and public buildings.
Multi-year Forecast: The Finance Department’s three-year forecast of revenues and expenditures.
Non-departmental: Appropriations of the General Fund not directly associated with a specific department. Expenditure items and certain types of anticipated general savings are included.
Parcel Tax: A tax set at a fixed amount for each parcel of property (or for each room or square foot). A local government needs two-thirds of voters to approve one.
Proposed Budget: The proposed budget is the budget that is sent to the City Council by the City Manager. The proposed budget, including changes made by the City Council during its review, is approved and then becomes the adopted budget.
School District: A separate local government that runs public schools. Fremont Unified School District is governed by a five-member Board of Education, each member elected to a four-year term.
Special District: A local government set up to provide a particular service in its area, such as fire protection, water, or parks and recreation. Special districts get a share of the 1% property tax, along with counties, cities and schools.
Special Revenue Fund: This fund type is used to account for City revenues from sources that, by law or administrative action, are designated to finance particular functions or activities of government.
Transfers In and Transfers Out: Amounts transferred between funds; not considered a revenue or expense. For example, legally authorized transfers from a fund receiving revenue to the fund through which the resources are to be expended are shown as operating transfers.