Understand key budget terms with this easy-to-use glossary. It explains common words and phrases used in City budget documents.
Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Activity | A subdivision of a service that specifies how the service is performed. Some services may be accomplished through the performance of only one activity, while other services may require the performance of two or more activities. |
| Actual | This term is used in various contexts with different meanings. The definitions for the two contexts in this book are specified below: Performance Management: A number that reflects the result(s); this is different from a target, which is a prediction of result(s). Financial: The recorded (or posted) revenues and expenditures; this is different from a budget, which is a planned estimate. |
| Agency | An organization authorized by the Mayor and City Council to operate in the best interest of the public. Each agency is obligated by the City Charter to submit a budget request outlining projected costs of operation for the upcoming fiscal year to the Director of Finance and/or Planning Commission, as applicable. |
| American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) | The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) is a $1.9 trillion economic stimulus package passed by the U.S. Congress and signed into law in March 2021. ARPA includes State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF), which provides direct aid to state, local, and Tribal governments to support the response to and recovery from the COVID-19 public health emergency. |
| Appropriation | The legislative authority to spend and obligate a specified amount from a designated fund account for a specific purpose. |
| Assessable Base | The value of all taxable property within the boundaries of the City of Baltimore. |
| Assessed Valuation | A valuation set upon real estate and other taxable property by the State Department of Assessments and Taxation and utilized by the City of Baltimore as a basis for levying taxes. All taxable real property follows a 3-year reassessment cycle, and the resulting assessed valuation is an estimate of the current market value. |
| Balanced Budget | When the revenues the City projects to receive in the next fiscal year from all existing revenue sources are sufficient to cover the total anticipated expenditures of the next fiscal year. Total revenues are either equal or greater than the recommended appropriations, and may be supplemented, if necessary, with prior year fund balance. |
| Blueprint for Maryland's Future | Commonly referred to as Kirwan. This legislation was passed in 2021 guided by the Kirwan Commission on Innovation and Excellence in Education. The law enacts a comprehensive reorganization of education funding in Maryland to improve the quality of education and close equity gaps. The Blueprint for Maryland’s Future is different from the City schools’ Blueprint for Success. |
| Board of Estimates | The Board of Estimates (BOE) is the highest administrative body of the City. It consists of five voting members: the President of the City Council, who serves as President of the Board, the Mayor, the Comptroller, the City Solicitor, and the Director of Public Works. The BOE is responsible for formulating and executing the fiscal policy of the City, with its primary policy tool being the recommended annual Ordinance of Estimates, the City’s budget. It is also responsible for awarding contracts and supervising all purchasing by the City. |
| Budget | A proposed plan of revenue and expenditure for a given year. |
| Capital Fund | A set of budget accounts established to plan for specific capital projects financed by revenues received from City funds, bonds, State, federal, and other miscellaneous funds. |
| Capital Budget | The appropriations for capital projects, which comprise the first year of the Capital Improvement Program. |
| Capital Improvement Program (CIP) | A six-year plan specifying physical improvements recommended by the Planning Commission after reviewing the requests of City agencies. |
| Capital Project | An improvement to City property, which by policy of the Board of Estimates must be physical betterment or improvement costing more than $50,000 and any preliminary studies relative to that project. It does not include projects that cost less than $50,000, vehicular equipment, repairs and maintenance costing less than $100,000, and salaries for positions that are not part of the cost of the project. |
| Charter | A legal document that defines the City’s: organization (agencies, commissions, offices, etc.), rules and processes, services provided, authority and powers held by specific offices or agencies. |
| Conduit Enterprise Fund | Established to budget for revenue charged to private and public entities renting space in the City-owned and operated underground conduit system and system-related expenses. |
| Convention Center Bond Fund | : Established in Fiscal 1995 to budget and account for hotel tax revenues to be dedicated to support the payment of principal and interest associated with City indebtedness to finance one‐third of the $150 million cost of the joint City‐State expansion of the Baltimore Convention Center. In Fiscal 2020, the City fully paid off the bonds associated with this expansion; however, the City may continue appropriating funds for future renovation or expansion of the Center. |
| Coronavirus Air, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) | The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) is a $2.2 trillion economic stimulus bill passed by the U.S. Congress and signed into law in March 2020, in response to the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. Under CARES, state, local, territorial, and Tribal governments received direct aid to assist in responding to the pandemic. |
| Current Level of Services Budget | Estimates of the appropriations needed by each municipal agency for the next ensuing fiscal year. These estimates are formulated in order to maintain the same service level for each particular service, purpose, activity, or project included in each agency’s budget. |
| Debt Budget | Principal and interest payments on debt (bonds) incurred by the City. |
| Dedicated Funds | Includes revenue, which by law, contract, or regulation may be used only to support appropriations for specific purposes. |
| Estimate | An approximation of the amount to be spent or collected. |
| Expenditure | Spending to purchase goods or services. |
| Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) | The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security, which coordinates the response to disasters and emergencies that occur in the United States. As part of the federally declared COVID-19 emergency, FEMA emergency aid has been made available to state and local governments on a reimbursement basis. |
| Fiscal Year | The time frame to which the annual budget applies. For the City of Baltimore, this period is from July 1 through June 30. |
| Fund | A sum of money segregated for specific activities. Use of this money requires adherence to special regulations established for each type of fund. The funds identified within Baltimore City's budget are the Capital Fund, Conduit Enterprise Fund, Convention Center Bond Fund, General Fund, Internal Service Fund, Parking Enterprise Fund, Parking Management Fund, Special Grant Fund, Special Revenue Fund, Stormwater Utility Fund, Water Utility Fund, and Wastewater Utility Fund. |
| General Fund | A central fund into which most of the City's tax and unrestricted revenues are budgeted to support basic City operations and pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) capital projects. |
| Grant | A contribution made from either the private sector to the City or by one governmental unit to another unit. The contribution is usually made to support a specified service, function, or project. |
| Object | A group of similar services, commodities, equipment, or personnel costs used to clarify spending within the budget. Objects of expenditure identified within Baltimore City’s budget are: Salaries; Other Personnel Costs; Contractual Services; Materials and Supplies; Equipment; Grants, Subsidies and Contributions; Debt Service; and Capital Improvements. |
| Outcome | A set of broadly defined goals for the City set by the Mayor and Senior Team. The Fiscal 2022 budget was built around five Priority Outcomes: Prioritizing Our Youth, Building Public Safety, Clean and Healthy Communities, Equitable Neighborhood Development, and Responsible Stewardship of City Resources. |
| (Capital Improvement) Project | A long-term investment, typically in physical infrastructure, such as roads, monuments, public buildings, parks, or art. Capital improvement projects are defined by the Board of Estimates as "… any physical betterment or improvement and any preliminary studies and surveys relative thereto, including, but not limited to, any property of a permanent nature, and equipment needed in connection with such improvement, when first erected or acquired. |
| Quasi-Agency | Independent entities that act on the City’s behalf, such as the Parking Authority, Baltimore Development Corporation, Family League, and others. Budget accounts fall under agencies, but are managed by quasi-agencies. |
| Salary and Wage Differential | Added compensation received by certain employees when regularly assigned to night or shift work and to certain employees when required to work under various hazardous conditions. |
| Salary and Wage Savings | An adjustment made to appropriations resulting from the number of permanent full-time positions which are either vacant, filled by an employee in a lower pay classification, or through employee turnover within the agency. |
| Service | Replaces program in the budget structure. An activity or set of activities performed by an agency that has: identifiable costs for budgeting purposes; a clear public purpose and measurable objectives; and clear lines of accountability for its performance and fiscal management. Services are the means to achieving desired outcomes for City residents. |
| Subobject | A subdivision of an object of expenditure in which groups of similar services or related articles are further delineated into more specific types of expenditures. |
Continued
| activity_id | The unique 3-digit identifier assigned to each activity. |
|---|---|
| activity_name | The formal name assigned to each activity in the City's budgeting system. |
| agency_id | The unique 4-digit identifier assigned to each agency. |
| agency_name | The formal name assigned to each agency in the City's budgeting system. |
| fund_id | The unique 4-digit identifier assigned to each fund. |
| fund_name | The formal name assigned to each fund in the City's budgeting system. |
| object_id | The unique 1-digit identifier assigned to each object. An object is a grouping of sub-objects. |
| object_name | The formal name assigned to each object in the City's budgeting system. |
| outcome_id | The unique 2-digit identifier assigned to each Priority Outcome. |
| outcome_name | The formal name of the Mayor's Priority Outcomes, assigned by service, in the City's budgeting system. |
| project_id | A six-digit unique identifier in YYY-YYY format, also referred to as a CIPI number, which allows users to cross-reference projects between all available capital budget reports. |
| project_name | A title given to a capital improvement project, usually by the project manager in the responsible agency. |
| quasi_agency_name | The formal name of the quasi-agency in the City's budgeting system. |
| service_id | The unique 3-digit identifier assigned to each service. |
| service_name | The formal name assigned to each service in the City's budgeting system. |
| subobject_id | The unique 3-digit identifier assigned to each sub-object. |
| subobject_name | The formal name assigned to each sub-object in the City's budgeting system. |