Glossary

Words that come up in agendas, minutes, and their summaries, and what they mean.

abatement: A reduction or cancellation of a property tax bill, granted by the assessors, for example after an error in the assessment.
ADA: Americans with Disabilities Act, the federal law on access for people with disabilities.
CBA: Collective bargaining agreement: a contract between the city or town and a union of its employees, setting pay and working conditions.
CDBG: Community Development Block Grant: federal money, from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, for housing and neighborhood projects that serve low- and moderate-income residents.
CIP: Capital Improvement Program: the plan for buildings, roads, equipment, and other long-lasting purchases over the next several years, and how to pay for them.
COLA: Cost-of-living adjustment: a raise in pay or a pension to keep up with rising prices.
Committee of the Whole: The full council or board meeting as a committee, to discuss a matter before voting on it at a regular meeting.
consent agenda: Routine items, such as minutes and reports, voted on together in one motion without discussion. A member can ask to take any of them up separately.
consent items: Routine items, such as business licenses and event approvals, that the City Council takes up together, with one motion and one public comment period. As used by: City Council.
credit enhancement agreement: An agreement, under a tax increment financing (TIF) district, in which the city or town returns part of a development's new property tax to its owner.
executive session: A part of a public meeting closed to the public. Maine's Freedom of Access Act (1 M.R.S. § 405) allows it only for specific reasons, such as lawsuits, real estate, contracts, or personnel matters.
first reading: An item's first presentation at a City Council meeting. An item the agenda says must be read on two separate days is voted on at a later meeting. As used by: City Council.
M.R.S.: Maine Revised Statutes, the state's laws.
M.R.S.A.: Maine Revised Statutes Annotated, the state's laws.
mill rate: The property tax rate, in dollars for each $1,000 of a property's assessed value. A mill is a tenth of a cent.
Municipal Officers' Approval: The City Council's approval, as the city's municipal officers, of a business's application, such as for outdoor dining or entertainment. As used by: City Council.
ought to pass: A committee's recommendation that the full board or council approve an item. "Ought not to pass" recommends voting it down.
quitclaim deed: A deed in which the city or town gives up whatever claim it has to a property, such as one it took for unpaid taxes.
receive and file: To accept a letter, report, or other document into the record, without taking any other action on it.
Select Board: The board of three to five elected residents that runs a town between town meetings: it sets policy, hires the town manager or administrator, and calls town meeting. Also called the Board of Selectmen or the Selectboard.
tabled: Set aside by a vote, to take up later. A tabled item comes back when the board votes to take it off the table.
TIF: Tax increment financing: a district where some of the new property tax from development is set aside, for public projects or for the development itself.
town meeting: A meeting of a town's voters that acts as its legislature: it votes on the budget, local laws, and the other articles of the warrant. In a representative town meeting, elected members vote.
variance: Permission from the zoning board to use or build on a property in a way the zoning doesn't allow, such as closer to a lot line, because of a hardship particular to the property.
warrant article: One item on the warrant, the list of what a town meeting will vote on. Each article is voted on separately.