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City Government Glossary

   Updated on October 26, 2021   Posted on September 27, 2018
Administration

There are numerous agencies and programs that cities use, many of which are referred to by an acronym. Additionally, there is a variety of common terms used when discussing city government issues. The following is a glossary for city government officials of the different acronyms and other terms.

​#​
​28E​Joint service contracts under Chapter 28E of state code
​411​Chapter 411 of state code, which governs the MFPRSI (see MFPRSI below)
​$8.10​General fund levy limit ($8.10 per $1,000 of taxable value)
A​​
​ABI​Association of Business and Industry
​ACA​Affordable Care Act
​ADA​Americans with Disabilities Act
​ADAA​Americans with Disabilities Amendment Act
​AFSCME​American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees
AG​​Attorney General
​AGO​Attorney General’s Opinion
​APA​American Planning Association
​APWA​American Public Works Association
B
​BOA​Board of Adjustment (also Zoning Board of Adjustment)
​BOD​Biochemical Oxygen Demand
​C​
​CATV​Cable Access Television
​CAFR​Certified Annual Financial Report
​CBD​Central Business District
​CDB​City Development Board
​CDBGCommunity Development Block Grant
CEBA​Community Economic Betterment Account
​CIP​Capital Improvements Program
​CMC​Certified Municipal Clerk
​COBRA​Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act
​COG​Council of Governments
​CPA​Certified Public Accountant
​CPI​Consumer Price Index
​D​
​DATA​Drug and Alcohol Testing Alliance
​DNR​Department of Natural Resources
​DOLU.S. ​Department of Labor
​DOM​Department of Management
​E​
​EDA​Economic Development Administration
​EEO​Equal Employment Opportunity
​EIS​Environmental Impact Statement
​EMS​Emergency Medical Services
​EMT​Emergency Medical Technician
​EPA​Environmental Protection Agency
​F​
​FAAFederal Aviation Administration ​
​FCC​Federal Communications Commission
​FEMA​Federal Emergency Management Agency
​FHA​Federal Housing Agency
​FICA​Federal Insurance Contribution Act (Social Security)
​FLSA​Fair Labor Standards Act
​FMLA​Family and Medical Leave Act
​FOIA​Freedom of Information Act
​G​
​GAAP​Generally Accepted Accounting Principles
​GASB​Governmental Accounting Standards Board
​GIS​Geographical Information System
​GO Bond​General Obligation Bond
​H​
​HAZ-MAT​Hazardous Materials
​HHS​U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
HSEMD​Homeland Security and Emergency Management Department (Iowa)
​HUD​U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
​I​
​IaCMA​Iowa City/County Management Association
​IAMU​Iowa Association of Municipal Utilities
​IARC​Iowa Association of Regional Councils of Government
​ICAAP​Iowa Clean Air Attainment Program
​ICAP​Iowa Communities Assurance Pool
​IDNR​Iowa Department of Natural Resources
​IDOT​Iowa Department of Transportation
​ICE​U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
​IECDB​Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board
​IEDA​Iowa Economic Development Authority
​​ILEA​Iowa Law Enforcement Academy
​ILOC​Iowa League of Cities
IMAA​Iowa Municipal Attorneys Association
​IMFOA​Iowa Municipal Finance Officers Association
​IMWCAIowa Municipalities Workers Compensation Association ​
​IPAIT​Iowa Public Agency Investment Trust
​IPERS​Iowa Public Employees Retirement System
ISACIowa State Association of Counties
​ISUIowa State University ​
​IUB​Iowa Utility Board
​IWD​Iowa Workforce Development
​L​
​LMI​Low and Moderate Income
​LUST​Leaking Underground Storage Tank
​M​
​MFPRSI​Municipal Fire and Police Retirement System of Iowa
​MSDS​Material Safety Data Sheets
​MSWLFC​Municipal Solid Waste Landfill Criteria
​N​
​NEPA​National Environmental Policy Act
​NFIP​National Flood Insurance Program
​NLC​National League of Cities
​NPDES​National Pollution Discharge Elimination System
​O​
​OM/OR​Open Meetings/Open Records, reference to state laws governing each topic
​OSHA​Occupation Safety and Health Administration
​P​
​P & Z​Planning and Zoning
​PERB​Public Employment Relations Board
​PILOT​Payment in Lieu of Taxes
​PO​Purchase Order
​PWS​Public Water Supply
​Q​
​Quorum​A majority of all council members
​R​
​RC&D​Resource, Conservation and Development
​RCRA​Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
​RDA​Rural Development Administration (U.S. Department of Agriculture)
​REAP​Resource Enhancement and Protection Act
RFP​​Request for Proposal
​RFQ​Request for Qualifications
​RIG​Rural Innovation Grant
​RISE​Revitalize Iowa’s Sound Economy
​Roll Call​Method to determine vote of each council member
​Rollback​Reference to state property tax system that limits taxable valuation growth
​ROW​Right-of-Way
RPC​​Regional Planning Commission
​RUTF​Road Use Tax Fund
​RWA​Rural Water Association
​S​
​SDWA​Safe Drinking Water Act
​Section 8​Federally Subsidized Housing Program
​SOP​Standard Operating Procedure
​SRF​State Revolving Fund
​SSMID​Self-Supporting Municipal Improvement District
​T​
​T & A​Trust and Agency
​TIF​Tax Increment Financing
​U​
​U of I​University of Iowa
​UNI​University of Northern Iowa
​UST​Underground Storage Tank
​W​
​WHP​Well Head Protection
​WWTP​Waste Water Treatment Plant
​Z​
​ZBA​Zoning Board of Adjustment



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