Financial Glossary of Terms

Assessed Value: The dollar value assigned to a home or other piece of real estate for property tax purposes.

Capital Assets: These include all land, buildings, equipment, and other elements of the City’s infrastructure having a cost of more than $5,000 and having been funded by the Capital Budget.

Debt Service Funds: Funds to finance and account for the annual payment of principal and interest on bonds.

Deferred Inflow of Resources: An acquisition of net assets by the City that is applicable in a future reporting period.

Deferred Outflow of Resources: A consumption of net assets by the City that is applicable to a future reporting period.

General Fund: The main operating fund of the City, which is used to finance the City’s operations. General Fund Revenues: Revenues which the City raises through taxation and other means. General Revenues are available to be used for any authorized program or function.

General Fund Expenditures: The primary fund from which the City pays ongoing expenses.

General Obligation Debt: Debt secured by the full faith and credit of the local government issuing the debt. The City pledges its tax revenues unconditionally to pay the interest and principal on the debt as it matures.

Governmental Fund: Governmental funds is money, assets, or property of a local government, including any branch, subdivision, department, agency, or other component of any such government.

Operating Budget: A plan for the acquisition and allocation of resources to accomplish specific purposes. The term may be used to describe special purpose fiscal plans or parts of a fiscal plan, such as “the budget of the Police Department or Capital Budget” or may relate to a fiscal plan for an entire jurisdiction, such as “the budget of the City of Suffolk.”

Trend: A general direction in which something is developing or changing.

We Want to Hear From You

Do you like this report? What other information would you like to see contained in this report?

Please let us know by contacting the Finance Department by emailing FinanceEmail@suffolkva.us, or calling 757-514-7500, or by stopping by the Department of Finance located in City Hall at 442 West Washington Street, Suffolk, Virginia 23434.

Please visit the City’s website at www.suffolkva.us for additional information including the City’s Annual Comprehensive Financial Report.