activity – part of a programme with no pre-defined duration, but with planned expenditures and outlays for the achievement of goals set forth in the programme
amendment – a proposal for changes and additions to a budget proposal
big city – a unit of local self-government with a population of more than 35,000; the economic, financial, cultural, healthcare and scientific centre of a wider region
borrowing – taking out credit or loans, or issuing securities
budget – a plan of revenues and expenditures for a given period
budget classification – a system of presentation of revenues and expenditures according to certain criteria (e.g. by user, goal, purpose, type, location and source of funding). → economic c. → functional c. → location c. → organisational c. → programme c.
budget principles → budgetary principles
budget process – the planning, preparation, adoption, execution, supervision and audit of the budget
budget proposal – document sent to a county assembly or municipality/city council by head of county/municipality or mayor showing the expected revenues/receipts and expenditures/outlays of local government units for the following year
budget reserves – funds determined in the budget that may be used for purposes not anticipated at the time of the budget planning
budget revision/amendment – a change in budget amounts, i.e. their reduction and/ or increase relative to the planned amounts
budget year → fiscal year
budgetary principles – the principles to be adhered to by all those dealing with the budget; they include following principles: budget unity and accuracy, annuality, equilibrium, unit of account, universality, specification, sound financial management and transparency
citizens budget – a simple form of a budget document intended for citizens (e.g. short budgets, presentations, guides, short overviews)
city – a local self-government unit in which the seat of a county is located, or any place with more than ten thousand inhabitants that constitutes an urban, historical, natural, economic and social entity, or that exists for special historical, economic and geo-communication reasons
consolidation – the presentation of financial data from several interconnected budgets and budget users, as well as extra-budgetary users, as if they were a single entity
contribution – earmarked public revenue paid, for example, for heath or pension insurance
cost-effectiveness – the ratio between costs and quality
county – a unit of regional self-government that comprises several territorially connected municipalities and cities, and constitutes a single natural, historical, traffic, economic, social and self-government entity
county/city/municipality administrative body – an office, institute or a professional service performing the activities within the competence of the county/city/municipality
county/city/municipality budget user – an institution founded by the county/city/municipality, which is majority-financed from the county/city/municipality budget (e.g. primary schools and kindergartens)
decentralised function/public service – responsibility for parts of certain public services (primary and secondary education, healthcare, welfare and fire fighting services) which the state delegates to a certain number of counties, cities and municipalities, providing them, in return, with additional funding
deficit – a surplus of expenditures over revenues in a given period
direct debt – a sum of all budget deficits incurred in the current and in earlier periods, financed by borrowing
earmarked revenue – revenue to be used for a predetermined purpose; for example, revenues from health insurance contributions must be spent on health care
Economic and Fiscal Policy Guidelines – a document by which the Government annually adopts its fiscal policy course for the next three-year period; containing macroeconomic and fiscal assumptions necessary for the preparation of the budget, as well as budget revenue and expenditure estimates
economic classification – the presentation of budget revenues (e.g. taxes, grants or revenues from assets) and expenditures (e.g. compensation of employees, subsidies or welfare benefits) according to their economic purposes
effectiveness – the ratio between the planned and actual effects of an activity
efficiency – the ratio of results to resources used
enacted budget – budget enacted by the county assembly or municipality/city council for the observed year
executive authority – the head of county/municipality or mayor who is elected to a four-year term of office directly, by secret ballot
expenditure → revenue
financial assets – money, deposits, bonds, loans, etc. financial expenditure – an expenditure arising from financial operations (e.g. interest or banking fees)
financial plan – a document of a budget user that determines its revenues and expenditures for the next budget period
financing account – a part of the budget showing how the budget deficit is financed and how the budget surplus is spent
fiscal year – a period of twelve months; in Croatia it corresponds to the calendar year (1 January-31 December)
functional classification – a presentation of budget expenditures by purpose (e.g. health care, education)
government bodies – ministries, state offices, state administration organisations and state administration offices in counties
Government Programme Strategy – a document by which the Government annually defines its goals for the next three-year period and allocates the state budget funds in accordance with these goals
grants – non-repayable transfers of funds, which include current grants (for current expenditures) and capital grants (for the procurement of fixed assets), as well as general and specific-purpose grants
interim financing – can be introduced for a maximum period of three months, where the county assembly or municipality/city council fails to adopt the budget before the beginning of a budget year
level of budget transparency – here measured by number of published budget documents on the official web sites of counties/cities/municipalities; documents are: year-end report for 2016, mid-year report for 2017, budget proposal, enacted budget and citizens budget for 2018; since the availability of five budget documents is surveyed, it ranges between 0 and 5
local budget – the budget of a local unit enacted by its representative body
local self-government – the jurisdiction of cities and municipalities over certain activities (e.g. primary education and welfare), including their entitlement to own revenues and representative and executive authorities; the Government may not interfere in their powers, but is obliged to support them, where necessary
local unit – a municipality or city, and sometimes a county. → unit of local self-government. → unit of regional self-government
location classification – budget expenditures shown by location (e.g. county, city or municipality)
material expenditure – the value of goods and services purchased by the county/ city/municipality in the open market for the performance of its activities (e.g. rental and lease charges, telephone and postal services costs)
mid-year report – shows revenues/receipts and expenditures/outlays of county/city/municipality for the first half of an observed year
municipality – a unit of local self-government established for the territory of several populated places that constitute a single natural, economic and social entity connected by the common interests of the inhabitants
net borrowing – an indicator of the surplus of expenditures over revenues in the → financing account
net financing – the amount that should equal the deficit/surplus from the → revenue and expenditure account, or → net lending/borrowing
net lending – an indicator of the surplus of revenues over expenditures in the → financing account
non-financial assets – produced assets (e.g. buildings, plants, equipment and inventories) and non-produced assets (e.g. land, patents and concessions)
operating balance – the difference between operating revenues and operating expenditures excluding changes in long-term non-financial assets
operating revenues – revenues from regular activities, e.g. from taxes (personal income tax and surtax, property taxes and tax on goods and services) and other revenues (from property, administrative fees and fines)
organisational classification – the presentation of budget expenditures by organisational units, i.e. city offices and professional services
outlays → revenue
potential debt – direct debt increased by guarantees issued
primary operating balance – the difference between operating revenues and operating expenditures, net of interest outlays
programme – a set of independent and closely interconnected → activities and → projects, aimed at achieving a common goal
programme classification – the statement of budget expenditures by → programme → activity and → project (e.g. environmental protection, computerisation or entrepreneurial support programmes)
project – part of a → programme of a predefined duration, with planned expenditures and outlays for the achievement of goals set in the programme
projection – unlike the budget, which is planned for the next year (e.g. in 2018 for 2019), projections are made for the two years after that (e.g. in 2018 for 2020-2021)
public institution – an institution established to perform permanently activities related to education, science, culture, information, sports, physical training, technical education, child care, health care, welfare, care for the disabled, etc., provided that these activities are not performed for profit
receipts → revenue
regional self-government – a legal framework within which counties and the City of Zagreb are responsible for certain activities (e.g. primary and secondary education, health care, welfare) and are entitled to their own revenues and own representative and executive authorities; the Government may not interfere in their powers, but is obliged to support those of lower financial capacity
representative authority – the county assembly or municipality/city council; the members are elected to a four-year term of office directly, by secret ballot
revenue – the terms revenues and expenditures are used in the revenue and expenditure account in relation to business operations and the sale and acquisition of fixed assets; the terms receipts and outlays are used in the financing account, when referring to financial assets and to granting, taking out and repaying loans; revenues and expenditures are linked to nonfinancial; receipts and outlays to financial transactions
revenue and expenditure account – shows budget revenues and expenditures in a single year
revenues from non-financial assets – revenues derived from the sale of residential and business buildings, land, transportation facilities or strategic reserves
shared taxation → tax sharing.
State Audit Office – an independent and autonomous institution accountable to the Parliament, which is responsible for the audit of counties, cities and municipalities, the City of Zagreb and companies founded or majority-owned by counties, cities and municipalities
sub-municipal self-government – local committees, city districts and boroughs; founded under the statute of a unit of local self-government
subsidy – a non-repayable sum of money granted to stimulate the production of goods or provision of services
surplus – an excess of revenues over expenditures in a given period
surtax – an extra tax levied on top of personal income tax by municipalities and cities; its base is the personal income tax, and the rate is set by the municipality or city entitled to the collected surtax as their revenue
tax – a compulsory payment to the government with no direct counter-benefit or pre-determined purpose, levied on an income, profit, property, value added, etc.
tax base – the amount of money to which a tax rate is applied, e.g. a company's profits, a natural person's income or the value of a real property
tax rate – the percentage or fixed amount of an income, profits or the value of goods and services, paid to the tax authority; applied to the tax base; can be progressive, proportional or regressive
tax sharing – the division of tax revenues between the government and local units (counties, cities and municipalities)
taxpayer – any natural or legal person legally obligated to pay tax
transparency – a possibility for the public to obtain complete, accurate, timely and understandable information
unit of local and regional self-government – a municipality, a city or a county
unit of local self-government – a municipality or a city
unit of regional self-government – a county
year-end report – shows revenues/receipts and expenditures/outlays of county/city/municipality in an observed year