If you have contact with the City of Dallas, whether as a personal injury lawyer or as a consumer, you will likely run into a maze of bewildering abbreviations and acronyms. At least the City recognizes the problem, and has published a handy guide to the internal terminology of the City of Dallas. Here’s the City’s description:
Public Information Office
Guide to Acronyms and Abbreviations
Ac·ro·nym: A word formed from the initial letters or groups of letters of words in a set phrase or series of words, as NATO, COBOL, DOS. Acronyms are pronounced like words.
Ab·bre·vi·a·tion: A shortened or contracted form of a word or phrase, used to represent the whole, as Dr. for Doctor, U.S. for United States, lb. for pound.
For better or worse, acronyms and abbreviations are part of the organizational communications system in the City of Dallas. Acronyms and abbreviations are commonly used, save time, and can be a useful way to shorten overly long names or titles. However, they can also be a mystery to employees or citizens who are unfamiliar with the organizations involved.
To help you navigate through the city’s various departments and organizations, and their many acronyms and abbreviations, the City of Dallas Public Information Office (PIO) has created this guide. Because new acronyms and abbreviations crop up from time to time, the Guide will be updated periodically, to keep it as current as possible.