Glossary

Fiscal Year:

The fiscal year is the twelve-month period beginning July 1 and ending June 30 of the following year. The District uses the fiscal year as the basis for reporting financial information a twelve-month accounting period.

Program Categories:

Program Categories are major service programs that have been identified. All expenditures, including labor costs, are allocated to each program category in order to identify what each program actually costs.

Performance Measures;

Performance Measures have been developed for various program categories to evaluate the level of services provided within the categories.

Budget Assumptions:

The budget assumptions are generally accepted statements, which if untrue, would materially alter the financial planning and budget of the agency.

Revenues:

Revenues are derived from various sources and allocated to each operating fund. Property taxes, permits fees, water connection charges, user fees, interest on investments, reimbursements to the District for projects carried-out by the District and grants are the principal revenue sources. Revenues may include a portion of the prior-year fund balance used to offset expenditures. A pie chart graphically shows percentages of revenues according to source.

Article XIII (B):

Article XIII (B) is a section of the California State Constitution relating to the amount of a public entities tax revenues that may be expended in a given fiscal year. In the instance of the MPWMD, the article limits the amount of property tax revenue that may be spent in a fiscal year. It is calculated based upon the prior year’s limit multiplied by a factor representing annual growth in population and consumer prices. The latter is furnished by the State Treasurer’s Office. The calculation, required since the passage of Proposition 13 in 1978, is contained in each District budget and is identified as “Property Tax Appropriation.”

Expenditures:

Expenditures are associated with each operating fund, as well with each program category. Personnel costs, services and supplies, capital assets and project expenditures are the principal categories. A pie chart graphically shows percentages of expenditures by line item.

Capital Assets:

Capital assets are equipment and components that have a useful life greater than one year and with an initial, individual cost of more than $1,000 for equipment and $5,000 for facilities and improvements.

Project Expenditures:

The Summary of Project Expenditures is a listing of costs for the coming year that are projected as a result of specific projects and programs carried-out by the staff, consultants and contractors. Project expenditures do not include staff compensation for regular employees.

Contingency:

The contingency is a nominal amount budgeted for expenditure for unforeseen emergencies or special purposes requiring Board approval.

Designated Reserves:

Designated reserves are funds set aside by the Board for specific, restricted uses. Examples include

capital equipment, litigation, flood/drought, and pre-paid expenses.

General Operating Reserves:

General operating reserves are the balances in each operating fund of the District that remain after all budgeted expenses are paid. Normally, the general operating reserve balance is carried forward from one fiscal year to the next. The value is verified annually by the independent auditor and reported in the annual audit report.

Labor Allocation by Operating Funds:

The Labor Allocation by Operating Funds is a budget schedule that relates employee output to the three operating funds. It shows the output of each employee as a percentage of total time by operating fund. This percentage is used throughout the budget as the basis of allocating general and administrative (overhead) costs to the operating funds.

Labor Allocation by Program Category:

The Labor Allocation by Program Category is a budget schedule that relates employee output to the budgeted program categories. It shows the output of each employee as a percentage of total time by program category. This percentage is used throughout the budget as the basis of allocating general and administrative (overhead) costs to the program categories.