b'Capital Assets: All real and tangible property used in the operation of government, which is not easily converted into cash, and has an initial usefullive extending beyond a single nancial reporting period. Capital assets include land and land improvements; infrastructure such as roads, bridges,water and sewer lines; easements; buildings and building improvements; vehicles, machinery and equipment. Communities typically dene capitalassets in terms of a minimum useful life and a minimum initial cost. (See Fixed Assets)Capital Budget: An appropriation or spending plan that uses borrowing or direct outlay for capital or xed asset improvements. Among otherinformation, a capital budget should identify the method of nancing each recommended expenditure, i.e., tax levy or rates, and identify those itemsthat were not recommended. (See Capital Assets, Fixed Assets)Cash: Currency, coin, checks, postal and express money orders and bankers drafts on hand or on deposit with an ocial or agent designated ascustodian of cash and bank deposits.Cash Management: The process of monitoring the ebb and ow of money in an out of municipal accounts to ensure cash availability to pay billsand to facilitate decisions on the need for short- term borrowing and investment of idle cash.Certicate of Deposit (CD): A bank deposit evidenced by a negotiable or non-negotiable instrument, which provides on its face that the amount ofsuch deposit plus a specied interest payable to a bearer or to any specied person on a certain specied date, at the expiration of a certainspecied time, or upon notice in writing.Classication of Real Property: Assessors are required to classify all real property according to use into one of four classes: residential, openspace, commercial, and industrial. Having classied its real properties, local ocials are permitted to determine locally, within limitations establishedby statute and the Commissioner of Revenue, what percentage of the tax burden is to be borne by each class of real property and by personalproperty owners.Collective Bargaining: The process of negotiating workers\' wages, hours, benets, working conditions, etc., between an employer and some or allof its employees, who are represented by a recognized labor union. regarding wages, hours and working conditions.Consumer Price Index: The statistical measure of changes, if any, in the overall price level of consumer goods and services. The index is oftencalled the "cost-of-living index."Cost-Benet Analysis: A decision-making tool that allows a comparison of options based on the level of benet derived and the cost to achievethe benet from dierent alternatives.Debt Burden: The amount of debt carried by an issuer usually expressed as a measure of value (i.e., debt as a percentage of assessed value, debtper capita, etc.). Sometimes debt burden refers to debt service costs as a percentage of the total annual budget.Debt Service: The repayment cost, usually stated in annual terms and based on an amortization schedule, of the principal and interest on anyparticular bond issue.Encumbrance: A reservation of funds to cover obligations arising from purchase orders, contracts, or salary commitments that are chargeable to,but not yet paid from, a specic appropriation account.Enterprise Funds: An enterprise fund is a separate accounting and nancial reporting mechanism for municipal services for which a fee ischarged in exchange for goods or services. It allows a community to demonstrate to the public the portion of total costs of a service that isrecovered through user charges and the portion that is subsidized by the tax levy, if any. With an enterprise fund, all costs of service deliverydirect, indirect, and capital costsare identied. This allows the community to recover total service costs through user fees if it chooses. Enterpriseaccounting also enables communities to reserve the "surplus" or net assets unrestricted generated by the operation of the enterprise rather thanclosing it out to the general fund at year-end. Services that may be treated as enterprises include, but are not limited to, water, sewer, hospital, andairport services.Equalized Valuations (EQVs): The determination of the full and fair cash value of all property in the community that is subject to local taxation.Estimated Receipts: A term that typically refers to anticipated local revenues often based on the previous year\'s receipts and represent fundingsources necessary to support a community\'s annual budget. (See Local Receipts)Exemptions: A discharge, established by statute, from the obligation to pay all or a portion of a property tax. The exemption is available toparticular categories of property or persons upon the timely submission and approval of an application to the assessors. Properties exempt fromtaxation include hospitals, schools, houses of worship, and cultural institutions. Persons who may qualify for exemptions include disabled veterans,blind individuals, surviving spouses, and seniors.Beaufort County, SC | Budget Book 2024 Page 565'