Glossary of Budget Terms

COMMON BUDGET TERMS

ADOPTED BUDGET

The final budget that is approved by the Board of Trustees.  This occurs sometime in September after the state legislature approves the budget for the state.

ALLOCATION

The amount of money that you are approved to spend.  This term is interchangeable with the term "budget."  For example, if you are told your allocation is $4,000 for supplies, it means you can spend up to $4,000 for supplies.

APPORTIONMENT

The amount of money Los Angeles City College receives from the state of California for a variety of different programs.  Our school's state apportionment is usually updated twice per year, but in some cases, amendments are made by the Chancellor's Office.  Our full-time equivalent student (FTES) population is a driving factor in these calculations, as well as some other factors.

AUXILIARY FUND

A separate fund that runs similar to a business, rather than a government entity.  For example, the Bookstore is run out of this fund.  Auxiliary operations generally aim to make money, whereas governmental entities are not profit-making in nature.

CAPITAL PROJECTS FUND

A separate fund that pays for large construction projects such as buildings, land, roadways, parking lots, fields, etc... By keeping these funds separate, it's easy for constituents to see in detail how monies are being spent in these areas.

BUDGET
A plan of financial operation for a given period for specified purposes consisting of an estimate of income and expenditures; the process of allocating available resources among potential activities to achieve the objectives
of the organization.

COLA

Cost of Living Adjustment.  Expenses rise every year, just as they do in your own personal budgets.  Electric costs go up, prices of goods and services rise, and a variety of other costs go up as a normal course of business each year in the United States.  The state of California recognizes these increased costs by passing along a cost of living allocation to help schools cover the increases in their normal operating costs.  Generally, COLA monies don't cover all of the normal increases in costs, but they go a long way to helping defray some of these increases.

COST CENTER/FUND CENTER
A 6-digit code set of functions or operations related to an academic discipline or a grouping of services.                       Examples:  C2890A = CSIT; C1530A= Art; C2450A = Chemistry;
 
CURRENT BUDGET

The amount in your budget at any given time.  this figure is your adopted budget (see definition above) minus any transfers of funds that you've done.

ENCUMBRANCES/COMMITMENTS
Obligations in the form of purchase orders, contracts, salaries, and other commitments for which part of an appropriation is reserved.
 
FEDERAL REVENUE

Money that is received from the federal government rather than the state of California.  These dollars generally come in the form of grants.

FISCAL YEAR
For governmental entities in the State of California, the period beginning July 1 and ending June 30.
 
FULL-TIME EQUIVALENT (FTE) EMPLOYEE
Ratio of the hours worked to the standard hours assigned to a full-time employee.  For example, a classified employee working 80 hours on an A8 basis (for which 160 hours is full-time) would be 0.50 FTE.  Note that length of time assigned (begin and end dates) is not a factor in the computation of FTE.
 
FULL-TIME EQUIVALENT STUDENTS (FTES)
A term replacing the formerly used ADA (Average Daily Attendance); the standard used to compute State appropriations in support of districts.
 
FUND
An independent fiscal and accounting entity with a self-balancing set of accounts for recording cash and other financial resources.  The LACCD funds include General (1), Financial Aid (2), Long Term Debt (3), COPS (4), Special Reserve (construction) (5), Cafeteria (6), Child Development (7), and Bookstore (8).
 
FUND BALANCE

The amount of money remaining at the end of the year that has not been spent plus any balances remaining from previous years that haven't been spent.  If you do not spend your money in your budget, it does not roll over to the following year, it goes into a "giant pot" of money called "Fund Balance" for the entire college.  This money is used for emergencies and unforeseen circumstances such as enrollment declines or lower revenue from the state.

GENERAL FUND

The main bucket of money the college uses for spending on such items as salaries, electricity, health benefits, supplies and the like.

GENERAL LEDGER (GL) CODE (formerly Object Code)
A six-digit code designating category of expenditure or income as to its specific nature. 
Examples:  452100 = supplies; 453100 = printing; 640100 = equipment.
 
RESTRICTED PROGRAMS
Defines funds in designated programs which are limited as to use or disposition by their funding source.  Examples:  Health Services, Community Services, Financial Aid Programs, State One-Time Block Grants, etc.
 
UNRESTRICTED PROGRAMS
Refers to each location’s Basic program 10100 allocation of general state apportionment for operations.  Also, other programs in range 10031-10299, including summer sessions, considered Basic “related”, which are not restricted as
to use.