Cleveland’s annual budget hearings are full of numbers, questions – and jargon. Cleveland Documenters assembled some of the common terms you might hear and what they mean as well as useful information on some of the different city departments and offices and what work they handle.

Are there additional terms we should define? Contact us here, tweet us at @CleDocumenters or send a text to (216) 220-9398.

Click on the arrow to see the next term.

  • Budget Terms to Know: Operating Budget
  • Budget Terms to Know: General Fund
  • Budget Terms to Know: Capital Budget
  • Budget Terms to Know: Fiscal year
  • Budget Terms to Know: Expenditure
  • Budget Terms to Know: Fund
  • Budget Terms to Know: Encumbered funds
  • Budget Terms to Know: Unencumbered Funds
  • Budget Terms to Know: Debt Service
  • Budget Terms to Know: Fee
  • Budget Terms to Know: Bond
  • Budget Terms to Know: Bed Tax
  • Budget Terms to Know: Property tax
  • Budget Terms to Know: Liability
  • Budget Terms to Know: Special Revenue Funds
  • Budget Terms to Know: Rainy Day Reserve Fund
  • Budget Terms to Know: Student Activities Fund
  • Budget Terms to Know: Street Construction Fund
  • Budget Terms to Know: Cleveland Stadium Fund
  • Budget Terms to Know: Grant
  • Budget Terms to Know: Community Development Block Grants (CDBG)
  • Budget Terms to Know: ARPA
  • Budget Terms to Know: Director/Commissioner
  • Budget Terms to Know: Division
  • Terms to Know: Quorum
  • Budget Terms to Know: Cleveland Department of Public Works
  • Budget Terms to Know: Cleveland Department of Building & Housing
  • Budget Terms to Know: Cleveland Department of Public Health
  • Budget Terms to Know: Cleveland Department of Port Control
  • Budget Terms to Know: Cleveland Department of Public Utilities
  • Budget Terms to Know: Cleveland Department of Law
  • Budget Terms to Know: Cleveland Department of Human Resources
  • Budget Terms to Know: Cleveland Department of Community Development
  • Budget Terms to Know: Cleveland Department of Economic Development
  • Budget Terms to Know: Cleveland Department of Finance
  • Budget Terms to Know: Office of the Mayor
  • Budget Terms to Know: Cleveland Office of Sustainability
  • Budget Terms to Know: Public Auditorium
  • Budget Terms to Know: Parking Lots
  • Budget Terms to Know: Greensheets
  • Budget Terms to Know: Cleveland Municipal Court
  • Budget Terms to Know: Cleveland Housing Court
  • Budget Terms to Know: City Planning Commission
  • Budget Terms to Know: Community Relations Board
  • Budget Terms to Know: Central Collection Agency
  • Budget Terms to Know: Golf Courses
  • Budget Terms to Know: Cemeteries

Cleveland Documenters pays and trains people to cover public meetings where government officials discuss important issues and decide how to spend taxpayer money.