Words You Need to Know
by the Ballot Simplification Committee
Affordable Housing: Housing defined as affordable for households at certain income levels. The rates or prices of this housing generally aim for the household to pay approximately 30% of its income toward housing costs.
Apprentice: A person learning a trade from a skilled employer.
Apprenticeship Program: A program that trains a person to be skilled in a particular trade and may include hands-on training and classroom learning.
Area Median Income (AMI): A measurement of income level in San Francisco. More detailed information available at: sfmohcd.org/ami-levels.
City College: City College of San Francisco, a public, two-year community college.
Discretionary Approvals: An approval that requires the exercise of judgment or deliberation, as opposed to approvals that determine whether fixed standards have been satisfied.
Discretionary Revenues: Revenues that are unrestricted and that the City could use for any lawful purpose.
Fiscal Year: The City’s 12-month budget period, starting July 1 and ending June 30 of the following calendar year.
General Fund: The part of The City’s annual budget that can be used for any City purpose. Each year, the mayor and the Board of Supervisors decide how the General Fund will be used. Money for the General Fund comes from property, business, sales, and other taxes and fees.
Great Highway: A four-lane public roadway that runs along Ocean Beach starting at Point Lobos Avenue and ending at Skyline Boulevard.
Gross Receipts: The total amount of money a business receives, in whatever form, for its products and services.
Guaranteed Income Program: Guaranteed income provides direct, often recurring cash assistance to individuals or households, with no conditions or restrictions. Recipients are empowered and trusted to make their own choices about how best to use their money.
Initiative: A proposition placed on the ballot by voters. Any voter may place an initiative on the ballot by gathering the required number of signatures of registered voters on a petition.
John F. Kennedy Drive: A public street that runs through Golden Gate Park starting east at Stanyan Street, passing the Conservatory of Flowers, the de Young Museum, Speedway Meadow, the Bison Paddock and ending at the Great Highway.
Music Concourse: An open-air plaza within Golden Gate Park. The oval-shaped concourse is between the de Young Museum and the California Academy of Sciences.
Ordinance: A local law passed by the Board of Supervisors or by the voters.
Oversight: Monitoring activities to ensure that the purposes of a program are followed.
Parcel Tax: A tax on land and structures in the City.
Prevailing Wages: Wages that reflect the wages generally available in the local workforce and are set by the Board of Supervisors.
Repeal: To eliminate a law, so that it no longer has any effect.
Revenues: Amounts received by the City, including proceeds from most taxes for the City.
School District: The San Francisco Unified School District, a public agency that is separate from the City and operates the San Francisco public school system through 12th grade.
SFERS: The San Francisco Employees’ Retirement System, which manages retirement and deferred compensation plans for City employees.
Skilled and Trained Workforce: Workforce that employs building and construction workers who are in, or have graduated from, a state-approved apprenticeship program.