Glossary
Every highlight explains these in parentheses the first time one appears. This page holds the canonical wording, so the same term reads the same way everywhere in the archive.
| Term | Plain words |
|---|---|
| Additional appropriation | Spending beyond what the adopted budget already allows. It needs its own vote. |
| Appropriation | Permission to spend a stated amount of public money on a stated purpose. |
| CF-1 (Compliance with Statement of Benefits) | The yearly form a company files to keep a property-tax break, showing whether it delivered the jobs and investment it promised. |
| Conservancy district | A special district (there are six in Vigo County) that can tax the property inside it for drainage, flood control, or water projects. |
| Consent agenda | A bundle of routine items voted on together in one motion, without discussion, unless a member pulls one out. |
| First reading / second reading | Most ordinances are voted on twice at separate meetings. A first reading introduces it; it is not law until the final vote. |
| GO bond (general obligation bond) | Borrowing that is paid back from general tax revenue rather than from a specific project's income. |
| LIT (local income tax) | A county income tax. Some LIT money is restricted — for example the 0.2% "correctional and rehabilitation facility" fund can only pay for the jail and related facilities. |
| Ordinance | A local law. Passing one changes what people or businesses may do. |
| Resolution | A formal statement or decision of a board that is not a law — often approving a contract, a plan, or a position. |
| Rezoning | Changing the rules for what can be built or run on a specific parcel (for example, from single-family homes to a duplex, or to commercial use). |
| Tabled | Set aside without a decision. A tabled item may come back at a later meeting, or never. |
| Tax abatement | A temporary reduction in property taxes granted to a company in exchange for promised investment and jobs. |
| TIF (tax increment financing) district | An area where the growth in property-tax revenue is kept for local projects inside the district instead of going to the general budget. |
| Variance | Permission from the Board of Zoning Appeals to break a specific zoning rule — for example, to build closer to a property line than usually allowed. |
| Voice vote | Members say "aye" or "no" together. It records that a motion passed or failed, not how any individual voted. |
| Roll-call vote | The clerk calls each member by name and records each answer. This is the only kind of vote that produces a per-member tally. |
| Wheel tax / motor vehicle excise surtax | Annual fees added to vehicle registration, kept locally for roads. |
Also known as: glossary · definitions · what does TIF mean · what is an appropriation · what is a CF-1 · jargon