Plain-language reference
Pflugerville City Government Glossary
Definitions for recurring terms in council updates, policy discussions, and city documents.
City and policy terms
These definitions explain how terms are used on this site. An ordinance, contract, meeting packet, or other official record controls when a legal definition matters.
- Capital Improvement Plan (CIP)
- A multi-year plan for major public projects such as roads, water lines, wastewater facilities, parks, and public buildings. The plan identifies expected projects, timing, and funding sources.
- City Council
- Pflugerville's elected governing body. Council adopts ordinances, approves the budget and major contracts, sets policy, and hires and evaluates the City Manager.
- City Manager
- The official appointed by City Council to manage city operations and staff and to carry out council policy.
- Consent agenda
- A group of routine meeting items considered together through one vote unless a councilmember asks to discuss an item separately.
- Emergency Services District (ESD)
- A local government district that provides or funds fire protection, emergency medical services, or both. Travis County Emergency Services District No. 2 serves Pflugerville and the surrounding area.
- Fixed utility charge
- The part of a utility bill charged regardless of how much water a customer uses. A high fixed charge can make the effective price per gallon higher for low-use households.
- Impact fee
- A one-time charge on new development that pays for part of the water, wastewater, or roadway capacity needed to serve that growth. State law limits how cities calculate and use these fees.
- No-new-revenue tax rate
- The property-tax rate calculated to produce the same amount of taxes from properties taxed in both the current and prior year. The full state calculation includes adjustments, including the treatment of new property.
- Planning and Zoning Commission
- An appointed board that reviews land-use and development matters and makes recommendations to City Council when council has final authority.
- Utility rate study
- An analysis of utility costs, debt, customer classes, usage, and revenue needs. It tests how different rate structures would distribute costs among customers.
- Right-of-way
- Public land reserved for streets, sidewalks, utilities, drainage, and related infrastructure. Construction within it is controlled through city permits and standards.
- Taxable value
- The portion of a property's appraised value used to calculate property taxes after applicable exemptions and legal limits are applied.
- Unified Development Code (UDC)
- Pflugerville's rules for zoning, subdivisions, site design, streets, landscaping, and other parts of land development.
- Water-rate tier
- A usage range billed at a stated price. Tiered rates can charge different prices as a household uses more water during a billing period.
Official references
Texas law supplies the controlling definitions and calculations for several terms on this page. See the Texas Comptroller's truth-in-taxation guidance, Texas Local Government Code Chapter 395 for impact fees, and the Travis County Emergency Services District directory.