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Decoding the County's Alphabet Soup

TCAT GIAC IDA EAF CSC, etc.

Acronyms are great - when you know what they mean.

What’s an acronym? DSS for the Department of Social Services, for instance, or COFA for the County Office for the Aging - that kind of thing.

To help decipher Tompkins County government’s most-used acronyms, we put together this list. If you know of one we missed, please let us know.

AA&WDP - Affirmative Action and Workforce Diversification Programs
ABIR - Advisory Board on Indigent Representation
ADA - Americans with Disabilities Act
ADA - Assistant District Attorney
AFPB - Agriculture and Farmland Protection Board
ARB - Assessment Review Board
ATI - Alternatives to Incarceration

BOCES - Board of Cooperative Educational Services
BOE - Board of Elections

CAA - Community Affirmative Action Committee
CAP - Community Arts Partnership
CCA - Consumer and Community Affairs Committee
CCE - Cornell Cooperative Extension
CCP - Cities for Climate Protection
CDBG - Community Development Block Grant
CDC - Centers for Disease Control (national)
CFR - County Fire and Rescue Building
CHA - Community Health Assessment
CHIPS -Consolidated Highway Improvement Program
CISnet - Community Information System Network
CJA/ATI -Criminal Justice Advisory/Alternatives to Incarceration Board
CJC - Community Justice Center
COFA - Office for the Aging
ComCap - Communication Capital Projects Committee
CPI - Consumer Price Index
CSC - Civil Service Commission
CSCN - Children with Special Care Needs
CVB - Convention and Visitors Bureau

DA - District Attorney
D.A.R.E. - Drug Awareness and Resistance Education
DEC - Department of Environmental Conservation (New York State)
DEIS - Draft Environmental Impact Statement
DMV - Department of Motor Vehicles
DOER - Department of Emergency Response
DOH - Department of Health
DOT - Department of Transportation (New York State)
DSS - Department of Social Services
DV - Domestic Violence
DWI - Driving While Intoxicated

EAF - Environmental Assessment Form
EAP - Employee Assistance Program
ED - Economic Development
EI - Early Intervention
EIS - Environmental Impact Statement
EMC - Environmental Management Council
EMS - Emergency Management System
EOC - Emergency Operations Center
EZ - Empire Zone

FandI - Facilities and Infrastructure Committee
FAA - Federal Aviation Administration
FCC - Federal Communications Commission
FLA - Finger Lakes Association
FLIC - Finger Lakes Independence Center
FLLS - Finger Lakes Library System
FOIL - Freedom of Information Law
FTC - Family Treatment Court
FTE - Full Time Equivalent

GASB - Government Accounting Standards Board
GIS - Geographic Information System
GO - Government Operations Committee

HEAP - Home Energy Assistance Program
HHS -Health and Human Services Committee
HHW - Household Hazardous Waste
HIPAA - Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
HPP - Health Promotion Program
HRC - Human Rights Commission
HSB - Human Service Building
HSC - Human Services Coalition
HUD - Housing and Urban Development, U.S. Department of

IC - Incident Commander
I-CHAP - Infant-Child Assessment Program
ICLEI - International Council on Local Environmental Initiatives
IDA - Industrial Development Agency
IDP - Ithaca Downtown Partnership
IDTC - Ithaca Drug Treatment Court
ITCTC - Ithaca-Tompkins County Transportation Council
ITS - Information Technology Services

LEPC - Local Emergency Planning Committee
LTC - Long Term Care

MEGA - MunicipalElectric and Gas Alliance
MOMS - Medicaid Obstetrical and Maternal Service
MPO - Metropolitan Planning Organization

NegDec - Negative Declaration (of environmental impact)
NNL - Neighborhood Notification Law
NYSAC - New York State Association of Counties
NYSDEC - New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
NYSDOH - New York State Department of Health
NYSDOT - New York State Department of Transportation

OAR - Offender Aid and Restoration
OFT - Office for Technology (New York State)
OJCR - Old Jail Conference Room
ORPS - Office of Real Property Services (New York State)
OTB - Off Track Betting
OTR - Over Target Request

PAB - Planning Advisory Board
PAR - Project Approval Request
PCI - Personal Consumption Index
PDEQ - Planning, Development and Environmental Quality Committee
PDR - Purchase of Development Rights
PERS - Personal Emergency Response System
PHCP - Physically Handicapped Children’s Program
PIAB - Public Information Advisory Board
PILOT - Payment in Lieu of Taxes
PINS - Persons in Need of Supervision
PIO - Public Information Officer
PosDec - Positive Declaration (of environmental impact)
PSCS - Public Safety Communications System

QoL - Quality of Life

RFP - Request for Proposals
RFQ - Request for Qualifications
RICS - Reduced Incarceration Community Service
RSWC - Recycling and Solid Waste Center

SHCR - Scott Heyman Conference Room, Old Jail
SEQR - State Environmental Quality Review
SPCA - Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
STAR - School Tax Relief
STOA - State Transit Operating Assistance
STOP DWI - Special Traffic Options Programs for Driving While Intoxicated
STORM - Southern Tier Organization to Reform Medicaid
STP - Strategic Tourism Planning
SWAP - Service Work Alternatives Program
SWC - Soil and Water Conservation
SWN - Statewide Wireless Network
SYEP - Summer Youth Employment Program

T&D - Training and Development
TC3 - Tompkins Cortland Community College
TCA - Tompkins Community Action
TCAD - Tompkins County Area Development
TCAT - Tompkins Consolidated Area Transit
TCDOH - Tompkins County Department of Health
TCPD - Tompkins County Planning Department
TCPL - Tompkins County Public Library
TSA - Transportation Security Administration (federal)
TSB - Traffic Safety Board

UCC - Uniform Commercial Code
VCI - Vital Communities Initiative
VEBA - Voluntary Employee Benefit Account

WDB - Workforce Development Board
WIC - Women, Infants, and Children, Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for
WRAP - Weatherization Referral and Assistance Program
WRC - Water Resources Council




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Last updated 7/23/2006