Chapter 12 Key terms

Question 1

audit:

Answer 1

an independent verification by someone who has no stake in the outcome; audits can be financial or programmatic.

Question 2

benchmarking:

Answer 2

the practice of comparing one’s organizational performance to those that are recognized leaders in the field or otherwise relevant competitors.

Question 3

biennial budget:

Answer 3

2-year police budget.

Question 4

budget:

Answer 4

government’s priorities expressed in financial terms, a plan stated in financial terms, the use of resources to meet human needs, a contract between the appropriators and those who execute the budget.

Question 5

budget calendar:

Answer 5

schedule of events for the preparation and approval of a budget.

Question 6

budget cycle:

Answer 6

four-step, sequential process repeated annually in government.

Question 7

budget execution:

Answer 7

the action phase of budgeting, budget implementation.

Question 8

capital budget:

Answer 8

groups together multiple large-scale, nonrecurring projects such as the construction of a new police station and has a multi-year time horizon, often 5 years.

Question 9

capital improvement project (CIP):

Answer 9

single capital improvement project, a component of a capital budget.

Question 10

fiscal year (FY):

Answer 10

the 12-month period usually covered by a budget; also see biennial and capital budgets as exceptions.

Question 11

hybrid budget:

Answer 11

budget formats that incorporate features from one or more other budget formats versus being purely one type of format.

Question 12

letter of exception:

Answer 12

letter written by a chief of police to whatever office authorized the audit contesting one or more findings by the auditor.

Question 13

line item budget:

Answer 13

budget whose focus is on controlling expenditures; each object of expenditure has a separate line in the budget.

Question 14

operating budget:

Answer 14

recurrent budget for salaries, fringe benefits, uniforms, training, telephone service and kindred expenses.

Question 15

performance audit (PA):

Answer 15

study to see how well an organization is achieving its objectives.

Question 16

performance budget

Answer 16

budget whose focus is on achieving goals; is organized around programs/ activities, has line item budget for control.

Question 17

Planning, Programming Budget System (PPBS):

Answer 17

a budgeting innovation used in the federal government from the mid-1960s to the early 1970s; little use of it in state and local government.

Question 18

program budget:

Answer 18

budget whose focus is on achieving goals; is organized around programs/ activities, has line item budget for control.

Question 19

results-based budget (RBB):

Answer 19

see performance budget.

Question 20

Zero-Based Budget (ZBB):

Answer 20

in pure form, every program in a budget starts from “zero” and must be justified each year. Three alternative service levels are prepared for each program. As currently practiced, departments “have” 75 or 80 percent of their prior year’s budget and use ZBB from there.

Question 21

allotments:

Answer 21

small amounts into which a budget is broken and given to the police department monthly or quarterly, instead of giving all of it at once to the police department.