Budget Terms, in Plain English

The City's plan for the coming year — an estimate of what it will raise and spend, adopted before the year begins. A plan, not a record of what happened.

The City's main discretionary pot — funded by taxes, used for most day-to-day services (police, fire, parks, libraries). Berkeley's is about $283M.

A self-supporting operation paid for by its own fees, not general taxes — e.g., the sewer, refuse, and marina funds. Walled off from the General Fund.

A way to count staffing: one full-time job = 1.0 FTE, two half-time jobs = 1.0. Berkeley has about 1,605.

A gap between ongoing spending and ongoing revenue that recurs year after year (as opposed to a one-time dip).

Ongoing (recurring) revenue repeats every year; one-time money (reserves, grants, ARPA) does not. Using one-time money to cover ongoing costs just moves the gap to next year.

The starting cost estimate a budget builds on. "Re-baselining" means resetting it to what's actually spent.

Money left unspent because jobs sit unfilled. Berkeley has leaned on this to balance — real savings, but it also means understaffed services.

The City's audited year-end financial report, checked by an independent auditor under government accounting rules. The verified record of what actually happened — the counterpart to the budget's estimate.

What a service costs general taxes after subtracting the fees and grants it brings in. The ACFR's truest "cost to taxpayers" figure — e.g., public safety's net cost is about $172M, half the total.

Accumulated savings in a fund. Split into restricted/committed (legally tied up) and unassigned (truly flexible). Berkeley's General Fund balance is ~$153M, but only ~$30M is unassigned.

A government's bottom line: assets minus liabilities. Berkeley's is positive overall, but its unrestricted net position is negative because of pension and retiree-health debt.

The budget is tracked one way (close to cash); the audit uses full accounting (GAAP/GASB) that also counts things like depreciation and pension debt. That's why the two don't line up exactly.

The difference between budgeted and actual. A positive variance here means the City spent less than budgeted — which Berkeley did every year, 2020–2024.

The multi-year plan for building and fixing physical things — streets, sewers, buildings — as opposed to day-to-day operating costs.

The full lifetime cost of an asset — not just building it, but operating, maintaining, and eventually replacing it. First cost is usually only 20–40% of the total.

Repairs put off for lack of funding. They don't go away — they compound. Berkeley's street backlog alone is over $250M.

A 0–100 score for street condition. 70+ is "good." Berkeley sits at 56 ("at risk") and has been flat there for three years.

What the City owes for employees' future pensions (~$724M) and retiree health care (OPEB, ~$83M) beyond what's already set aside.

A dedicated savings account a city can use to pre-fund pension costs. Berkeley has one (~$27M).

The actual law that enacts the budget — the Council's formal authorization to spend. Mid-year "AAO amendments" move money after adoption.

Berkeley's form of government since 1923: a professional City Manager runs operations and writes the budget; the elected Council sets policy and adopts it.

A custom, not a legal power. Berkeley's Mayor presides over Council and has one vote and no veto; the "Mayor's budget" is a set of recommended changes to the Manager's budget.

State law that caps how fast property-tax assessments can rise. It limits a city's ability to grow property-tax revenue.

State law requiring voter approval for most new local taxes and fees. It's why "just raise revenue" isn't something a council can do alone.

A court-enforced legal agreement. Berkeley is under a federal one requiring it to replace ~4.2 miles of sewer per year through 2036 — the one capital obligation it legally must fund.

A voter-approved tax or bond, usually earmarked for a purpose — T1 (infrastructure bond), FF (2020 fire/EMS & wildfire; 2024 streets), P (homelessness), Y (parks).

Government Finance Officers Association — sets widely used best-practice standards for budgeting, capital planning, and reserves.

Tying a program's funding to a stated goal and a measurable result, rather than funding it on autopilot.

Memorandum of Understanding — the labor contract between the City and a union (e.g., SEIU 1021). It sets pay, benefits, and work rules, and is renegotiated on a cycle.

Employees paying a share of their benefit costs (e.g., a percentage of the health premium). Berkeley currently pays ~100% of base medical premiums; cost-sharing is a common bargaining topic.

"Classification" is the catalog of job titles and their duties. "Broadbanding" merges narrow titles into wider ones so staff can do more kinds of work — a bargained change.

An auditor's fix is "implemented," "open," or "dropped." Berkeley auto-"drops" a recommendation if it isn't done within five years — even untried.