Glossary of Terms
How to read the Program Budget Page
Agency: The City Agency that is being discussed. The City government is divided into numerous agencies that are each delegated to control various functions of the government. This website only touches upon some of the major Mayoral agencies.
Program: The service offered by the agency. Such services are often divided into "Units", "Divisions" or "Bureaus." Some are just specific special "one-time" services offered by an agency.
Operating Budget FY09: The funding allotted by the City of New York to an Agency's program. The Operating Budget refers to the "Expense Budget," which sets forth funds for municipal services, including debt service and pension benefits. It should not be confused with the "Capital Budget," which refers to funds allotted for capital projects for the ensuing fiscal year and the three succeeding fiscal years.
How is the money spent?: This section breaks down the use of the expense funds into various broad categories, as found below.
Salaries: This includes salaries, fringe benefits, pension benefits, vacation benefits, etc.
Supplies: This includes all supplies necessary to operate the program.
Property and Equipment: This includes all property and equipment expenses related to the function of the program.
Contracted Services: This includes funding for services that are supplied through contracts. For example, the city may contract with a homeless shelter to provide shelter services, and this would fall under this category.
Other and Fixed Charges:This includes other expenses, usually contracts with cleaning services, telephone service providers, as well as anything miscellaneous.
# of Employees: This refers to employees directly hired and paid by the agency itself. Many times, if a program is funded through contracted costs, the employees for that program are paid through the contracted service. Additionally, if a program is dually funded by two agencies, one agency may supply the employee funds only.
What your money funds: This refers to the function of the program funds. The general function of the program is described, as well as other performance statistics related to the program.
Additional Terms
Executive Budget: This budget consists of three parts: a revenue budget for anticipated receipts; an expense budget for operating expenditures; and a capital budget for improvements to infrastructure. The Executive Budget is accompanied by the Message of the Mayor, which contains the highlights and objectives of the Executive Budget; a description of programs; a description of the general fiscal and economic condition of the City; a description of anticipated aid from the Federal and State governments; a three year forecast for expenses; and a comparison of the prior year's budget with actual expenditures.
Fiscal Year (FY): The budget process for the City of New York is a year round process that is centered around a fiscal year, not a calendar year. New York City's fiscal year begins on July 1st and ends on June 30th. The New York City Charter ("the Charter") vests the responsibility for preparing an annual expense and capital budget with the mayor. The mayor must then submit the expense and capital budget to the City Council for its review and adoption.
