Helpful Information & Resources

Terminology

Formal legislative enactment by the Board of County Commissioners

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
ADMINISTRATIVE FEE	A charge assigned to an MSBU for recouping costs incurred in support of establishing, managing and administering the MSBU. Includes an allocation of operating costs such as personnel, office/computer equipment, supplies, data processing, postage, insurance premiums, and programming.
ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW & RECTIFICATION	Boundary or structural modifications recommended by the MBSU Program and applied to established MSBUs for the purpose of rectifying or maintaining the integrity between common benefit and cost allocation based on land use, land developments and/or assessment criteria.
AD VALOREM TAX	A charge levied by a government to provide funding for general public services and improvements; amount due is based on official valuation (appraised value) of real property and authorized millage rate.
ASSESSED VALUE	Valuation set on real estate or personal property by the Property Appraiser as a basis for levying ad valorem property taxes. [Refer to Property Tax]
ASSESSMENT (Non-Ad Valorem)	An assigned dollar amount representing property cost share; allocated on basis of benefit units; and levied for funding a specific service or improvement. [Refer to Capital Project and/or Variable Rate Assessment]
ASSESSMENT BASE	Unit of measure on which non-ad valorem assessment is calculated. Examples: Per parcel, per dwelling, per front foot, and per acre.
ASSESSMENT ROLL	Formal record adopted by the Board of County Commissioners at a public hearing that provides a complete listing of the non-ad valorem assessments levied and assigned to specific property. Roll is certified and submitted annually to the County Tax Collector for inclusion on annual property tax bills for collection.
AQUATIC PLANT	Plant species that grow in, or closely associated with the aquatic environment around lakes and waterways; may be designated as floating, emersed, submersed, and shoreline species.
AQUATIC WEED	A noxious aquatic plant with potential to hinder the growth of beneficial aquatic plants, to interfere with irrigation or navigation, or to adversely affect the public welfare or natural resources of the state.
AQUATIC WEED CONTROL	Controlling or managing noxious and/or invasive plant species through chemical, biological or mechanical systems. Often requires compliance with federal, state and local agency regulations, as well as permitting.
AQUATIC WEED CONTROL [MSBU]	Public services critical to restoring, developing and/or maintaining aquatic conditions that enhance the water quality and overall health of the waterbody; concentrating on the aquatic plants in direct association with the waterbody (i.e. water and shoreline). Often requires compliance with federal, state and local agency regulations. [Vegetation that does not represent a detriment to a waterbody is not targeted as a priority within the scope of public aquatic weed control services funded by assessment.]
BENEFIT	An advantage, improvement or assistance gained from association with service or improvement.
BENEFIT UNIT	Equitable unit of measure on which non-ad valorem assessment is allocated. Examples: Per parcel, per dwelling, per front foot, and per acre.
BEST LAKE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES	Professionally developed and recommended measures for evaluating, monitoring, addressing and promoting optimal conditions for restoring, developing and/or maintaining water quality and environmentally sound waterbodies and habitats for wildlife. Often requires compliance with federal, state and local agency regulations.
BID	Offer to perform work; offer to supply labor, materials and/or goods at specified price.
BIOASSESSMENT (Aquatic Vegetation)	A scientific evaluation of the vegetation growing in, or in the vicinity of, a waterbody; identification, classification, and characteristics of vegetation in a given area [native, noxious, aquatic, wetland, upland, etc.]. When an aquatic vegetative bioassessment is conducted, dominance is determined by areal extent within the lake. When formulating an aquatic vegetation bioassessment, a variety of factors are considered - such as, but not limited to, species present, growth characteristics of species, and mass and/or percentage of area represented by each species.
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS	Governing body of Seminole County, composed of five members serving staggered terms of four years with election on a countywide basis; one Commissioner per each of the five commission districts.
BUDGET	Financial operating plan for fiscal year; summary of anticipated revenue and expenditures.
BUILDER	A person who constructs buildings under contract or as a speculation.
CADASTRAL	Map or survey showing or including boundaries of property lines.
CAPITAL PROJECT ASSESSMENT	Type of assessment that offers installment payment arrangements; includes specific repayment terms and financing (installment payment) fees. Typically associated with construction improvement projects that yield per property assessments over $500.00. Installment payments are collected annually via property tax billing; early payoff of outstanding balance may be made at any time without penalty.
COMMUNITY COLLECTION LOCATION	A central site that is nearby multiple residential properties and designated by the County for placement and collection of residential solid waste.
CENTRAL TRANSTER STATION	Waste processing facility where solid waste is unloaded from collection vehicles and is compacted and reloaded onto larger long-distance transport vehicles for shipment to a landfill for disposal or other treatment facilities.
COLLECTION SERVICE	The contracted service by which residential solid waste is removed and transported to an authorized disposal facility for processing.
COLLECTION LOCATION	Location designated by the County for placement and collection of residential solid waste. Includes curbside to residential property where feasible (most common in developed subdivisions) and central/community collection locations when necessitated by less developed conditions.
CONSOLIDATED STREET LIGHTING ORDINANCE	Declaration/document established by the Seminole County Board of County Commissioners for the purpose of defining the governing parameters of the street lighting non-ad valorem assessment district in unincorporated Seminole County.
CONTINGENCY FUNDS	Funds set aside or reserved to cover unforeseen events that occur during fiscal periods or improvement projects
CULVERT	A drain pipe or masonry structure under a road or embankment.
DEVELOPER	A person/entity that invests in and develops the urban or suburban potentialities of real estate, especially by subdividing the land into home sites and then building houses and selling them.
DISTRICT	A division of territory (such as a county) marked off for administrative, electoral, or other purposes.
DISTRICT BOUNDARY	The geographic area and/or properties included in an area identified as a district.
DRAINAGE	Conveying water from one place to another to dry the form and prevent water from accumulating.
EASEMENT	A limited right of use over the property of another, such as any strip of land legally dedicated or conveyed for public or other private utilities, drainage, sanitation, or other specified uses having limitations, the title to which shall remain in the name of the property owner, subject to the right of use designated in the reservation of servitude.
ENGINEERING REPORT	A written report prepared by a licensed engineer describing the project background, findings, assumptions, permit recommendations, and probable costs to complete a specific MSBU project.
FINANCE (INSTALLMENT) FEE	The charge assigned by the County to provide and manage installment payments for MSBUs with capital project assessment; generally expressed as a percentage rate over a period of time.
FISCAL YEAR	A twelve month time frame designated for managing and monitoring financial aspects of a government or other types of organizations; included budgeting and financial performance tracking. (Seminole County Fiscal Year: October 1 through September 30.)
GARBAGE RECEPTACLE	Any commonly available light gauge steel, plastic or galvanized container of nonabsorbent material, closed at one end and open at the other, furnished with a closely fitted top or lid and handle(s); may also be defined as a waterproof plastic bag of heavy mill construction which can be safely and securely closed. For collection purposes, a garbage receptacle and contents shall not exceed 50 gallons in capacity or 50 pounds in weight.
HERBICIDE	A substance or chemical that will destroy or kill vegetation.
INSTALLMENT (FINANCE) FEE	The charge assigned by the County to provide and manage installment payments associated with MSBUs with capital project assessment; generally expressed as a percentage rate over a period of time.
INTEREST EARNED	Favorable financial gain on revenue, savings, or investment.
INTEREST EXPENSE	The price paid for borrowing money; generally expressed as a percentage rate over a period of time.
LAKE MANAGEMENT	Long-term focus and integrated plan for restoring, developing and/or maintaining waterbody conditions that will enhance the water quality and overall health of the waterbody. Requires compliance with federal, state and local agency regulations.
LAKE RESTORATION	Specific efforts directed toward improving a waterbody so that deterioration is reduced, corrected, and/or controlled. Typically supplemented by long-term aquatic weed control and shoreline replanting requirements.
LAKE VEGETATION INDEX (LVI)	A scientific methodology for evaluating the condition of a waterbody based on the vegetation growing in or in the vicinity of the waterbody. Developed and regulated by FDEP; requires certification (individual audit) to execute.
LEASEHOLD	Land or property held under a contract (lease) that conveys certain property rights to another person or entity for a specific period of time.
LEVY	To impose taxes, special assessments or service charges for funding County activities.
LIAISON	A person submitting an application for establishing an MSBU, or an owner of property within the boundaries in an MSBU that voluntarily serves as a spokesperson for the community during the various phases of the MSBU process.
LIEN	A financial encumbrance or claim against a property by the County for repayment of service or improvement provided (or to be provided) by the County. The amount of the lien is equal to the preliminary and/or levied assessment.
LINNEAR FOOT	A one dimensional measurement pertaining to length and equal to twelve inches.
MILLAGE RATE	The property tax rate; levied in mills per dollar of taxable property value.
MUNICIPAL	Of or relating to a community or civic unit, purpose or service.
MUNICIPAL SERVICE BENEFIT UNIT (MSBU)	A special assessment district established for funding an essential public service and/or improvement that benefits the property included in the assessed boundary of the district. Assessment (property cost share) is allocated on a unit of measure that equitably represents benefit. MSBU assessment is not determined according to property value. [Refer to Assessment Base and Benefit Unit.]
MUNICIPAL SERVICE TAX UNIT (MSTU)	A special tax district established for funding a public service and/or improvement provided to a specific geographic area or sector of the County. Property cost share is allocated based on property value.