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.
executive session: A part of a public meeting closed to the public. Rhode Island's Open Meetings Act (R.I.G.L. § 42-46-5) allows it only for specific reasons, such as lawsuits, collective bargaining, buying land, or personnel matters.
first reading: The first time a council or board takes up an ordinance or other measure. It usually votes on it at a later meeting.
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.
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.
RIGL: Rhode Island General Laws, the state's laws.
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.
victualling license: A license to serve food to the public, renewed each year. Rhode Island law calls a restaurant a victualler.
warrant article: One item on the warrant, the list of what a town meeting will vote on. Each article is voted on separately.