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HomeMy WebLinkAboutResolution No. 033-13• RESOLUTION BE IT RESOLVED by the Common Council of the City of Rochester that the City adopt a personnel policy regarding Travel. A copy of the policy is attached. PASSED AND ADOPTED BY THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ROCHESTER, MINNESOTA, THIS DAY OF P,2013. ACTING PRESIDENT OF SAID COMMON UNCIL ATTEST: uaWury APPROVED THIS aV7 DAY OF , 2013. • M MAYOR OF SAID CITY (Seal of the City of Rochester, Minnesota) Resl OWdopt. PersPolicy.Trave12 0 CITY OF ROCHESTER ORGANIZATIONAL POLICY • TRAVEL Purpose This policy applies to trips that involve an overnight stay by City employees to accomplish City business; to attend professional association meetings; to acquire job -related knowledge or skills; or to reimburse job candidates, residing outside the immediate geographical area, for travel expenses related to recruit- ment (reference Section V). The City generally pays for or reimburses the ordinary and necessary costs, including the cost of travel, meals, lodging and related costs, of such travel if the trip is approved in ad- vance by the employee's direct supervisor or his/her designee. The following outlines requirements for reimbursement of such travel. For reimbursement of business meals that do not involve overnight stay, please refer to Section VI Business Meal Expense Reimbursement. Policy I. Prior Approval All out-of-state travel by the Mayor or City Council members must be for the purpose of official City business and be either pre -approved through the annual budget process or through subsequent council action. Business travel by all other City employees and eligible job applicants shall receive prior supervisory approval (by the City Administrator for Department Heads; by Department Head, or his/her designee gas appropriate for all others). N • II. Advance for Expenses/Employees Only An advance (minimum amount is $50.00) for expected lodging, meals and related costs may be re- quested by the employee from Finance by completing a voucher with an attached "Advance Expense Allowance Request" signed by the appropriate supervisor. This Section of the Travel Policy does not apply to job candidates; they may only be reimbursed for actual expenses incurred following participation in the interview process. III. Expense Reimbursement —Transportation, Lodging and Miscellaneous Receipts are generally required for all travel costs including shuttle service or taxi fare, parking ramp fees, lodging and program materials. Receipts are not required for the travel costs of highway tolls or other incidentals where it is similarly difficult to obtain a receipt. Meals and incidentals are addressed separately in the next section. A. Transportation Airfare: If airline travel is utilized, the City will pay the cost of a round-trip coach airline fare. Any benefits received from airline frequent flyer programs or other airline travel credit programs must be consistent with Minnesota State Law. A copy of the ticket receipt is required for reimbursement. • Rental Vehicles: A copy of all vehicle rental documents is required. The cost of renting a vehicle at the employee's travel destination will only be covered up to the amount of the cost for a round-trip airport shuttle or taxi fare to the employee's lodging plus the cost of taxi fare from/to the hotel, to/from the training facility, or other work -related venues. When applicable, employees must accept the car CITY OF ROCHESTER ORGANIZATIONAL POLICY rental agency's insurance coverage (if offered) as the City's liability coverage cannot be utilized if this 40 option is waived. Personal Vehicle Use: If the employee's personal vehicle is driven, mileage reimbursement is paid at the mileage rate that equals and does not exceed the Federal standard mileage rate established by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Reimbursement for use and parking charges of a personal vehi- cle cannot exceed the cost of taking commercial air transportation to the destination plus the cost of local transportation fees. If an employee chooses to drive a personal vehicle or travel by train to the business destination rather than utilizing airline travel, he/she must use vacation time for hours be- yond one business day (8 hours) travel time to the destination and one business day travel time (8 hours) to return to Rochester. B. Lodging Lodging Expenses: The City will reimburse for the standard room rate at conference hotels. If there is an incremental nightly charge by the hotel for additional non -City travelers, that charge must be covered or reimbursed by the employee. Communications Charges: Long-distance phone call charges will be reimbursed if they are incurred regarding a City business matter. One "safe arrival" call and/or "change of plans" call will also be re- imbursed. Reasonable internet access and service charges related to City business will also be re- imbursed. Extended Stay: If an extended stay ensures a less expensive airline fare, the employee may request • approval for 6n extra night(s) of lodging and meal expenses as long as the savings on the airfare is more than the extra cost for lodging and meal expenses. Miscellaneous Lodging Charges Not Covered: The City does not reimburse airline or in -room movie charges; cost of personal reading materials; or expenses related to a non -City employee accompany- ing the employee. All costs related to spouse or other guest travel must be fully covered by the em- ployee. Stay with Friend or Relative Not Reimbursed: An employee, traveling on behalf of the City and choosing to stay with a friend or relative, at/near his/her business destination, may not request lodg- ing expense reimbursement. Receipt Exceptions: No receipts are required for related lodging gratuities, such as baggage han- dling or maid service, of generally accepted (reasonable) amounts. IV. Expense Reimbursement — Meals and Incidental Expenses (M&IE) The City will allow two methods for employees to be reimbursed for meal and incidental (M&IE) travel expenses. All lodging expenses require actual receipts for reimbursement, however, for M&IE, em- ployees must choose, for each travel event, and for that entire travel event, from one of the two fol- lowing reimbursement methods: 0 Per Diem rate for M&IE by IRS -designated high-cost/low-cost city of travel, or 0 0 Substantiated actual costs up to the maximum daily limit CITY OF ROCHESTER ORGANIZATIONAL POLICY Under IRS rules, tax-free reimbursements for meal expenses can be made only for out-of-town trips that involve an overnight stay. See Business Meal Expense Reimbursement for business meal ex- penses or travel not involving an overnight stay. An employee incurring meal expenses during an overnight stay that also qualifies under IRS regula- tions as a "business meal' and as defined in City Policy, Business Meal Expense Reimbursement, may elect to follow those guidelines in seeking reimbursement for that particular meal. Refer to Sec- tion VI Business Meal Expense Reimbursement for procedures. A. IRS Per Diem Rate Method for High Cost/Low Cost Cities An employee may choose reimbursement for M&IE expenses under the IRS Per Diem rate in ex- istence at the time of travel. No receipts are required under this method because the IRS rea- sonably assumes that this limited amount was spent on meals and incidental expenses. Employ- ees will receive reimbursement no more than as follows: 1. For travel to the IRS -designated "high -cost cities" - The IRS -posted "high -cost" (currently $65/day). 2. For travel to all other cities -The IRS -posted "low-cost" rate" (currently $52/day). 3. Per IRS regulations, a maximum of 75% of the amounts listed in #1 or #2 above is allowed for the days of travel that includes the departure date and the last day of travel. • Substantiation of expensd under this method requires only documentation of dates and location of travel. B. Substantiated Actual Cost Up to Daily Limit Method After the travel has occurred, receipts are required to be submitted for meal costs (restaurant or room service meal charges) incurred up to $85.00 (including gratuity) for each full day of travel for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Gratuity includes either the fixed amount determined by the restau- rant, or an appropriate amount up to a maximum of 20%. The City does not reimburse the cost of any alcoholic beverages. The $85.00 limit for meal costs may be adjusted periodically by the City Administrator in accordance with Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regulations on employer ac- countable travel expense plans. The $85.00 daily limit will be reduced when: • The travel consumes only a portion of a given day (e.g., covers only lunch and dinner), and/or • Meal or meals are included and provided in the conference registration fee. • A meal or meals during travel qualify as a "business meal' expenditure under Section VII and is reimbursed through that method. For those meals determined to be ineligible for reimbursement, the $85 daily limit will be reduced by the appropriate amounts listed below: . Breakfast $15.00 Lunch $20.00 Dinner $50.00 CITY OF ROCHESTER ORGANIZATIONAL POLICY 0 The spending limit is subject to change administratively on a periodic basis according to changes in the CPI index that have occurred since adoption of this policy. V. Job Candidates In an effort to support the recruitment efforts of the City of Rochester, job candidates may be reim- bursed for related travel expenses. To qualify for this reimbursement, candidates must travel from outside a 100-mile radius of the City and have been invited to interview for an exempt -level position vacancy. Candidate expenses will be charged to the hiring department and may include: mileage incurred us- ing a personal vehicle, airfare at the economy or coach rate, shuttle fares, taxi fares, parking fees, hotel/lodging expense for one evening (providing the accommodations are made by the City) and miscellaneous tips paid for service rendered. The procedures and supporting documentation for re- imbursement of candidate expenses are the same as that required for City employees. Reimbursement checks will be mailed directly to the job candidate. Requests for procedure exceptions related to job candidates must be approved by the Human Re- source Director with the understanding that such requests are reasonable and necessary. VI. Procedure Within thirty days after travel on behalf of the City has been completed, required receipts should be attached to the "Personal Expense Invoice" an'd submitted to Finance. " If the employee received a travel advance and travel -related expenses were more than the advance, the employee will receive a check for the difference. If the employee's advance was greater than ac- tual expenses, the employee should submit a check payable to the City of Rochester for the differ- ence. In the event an employee is unable to complete the business trip for unavoidable and/or emergency reasons and has already incurred registration cost, hotel expense, or other related expense(s), the City Administrator may approve the expense reimbursement if a letter explaining why the travel could not take place is submitted along with the expense reimbursement request. VII. Business Meal Expense Reimbursement Purpose: A City employee may have cause to schedule a meeting for the purpose of discussing City business involving a meal in a restaurant or other dining establishment in order to create a more amenable and amicable business atmosphere. Policy: Federal tax code requires reimbursed travel or meal expenses to have a clear business pur- pose. The City will reimburse the employee for expenses of the official participants connected with meetings that include a restaurant meal during which City business is conducted. Costs of alcoholic beverages are not considered necessary or ordinary expenses for conducting a business meal and will not be reimbursed. Cost associated with spouses or other guests not required for the business purpose of the meeting will not be reimbursed. Procedure: The "Business Meal Expense Reporting Form" must be completed by the employee seeking reimbursement within thirty days of the event and signed by his/her supervisor. The form will CITY OF ROCHESTER ORGANIZATIONAL POLICY provide information for Finance to calculate reimbursement for the incurred meal and gratuity ex- pense of up to 20% or a fixed gratuity amount. Meal receipts and substantiating information including the names of business meeting participants, reason for meeting, and receipt(s) must be attached to the "Business Meal Expense Reporting Form". Revised 12/19/05 Revised 2/20/08 Revised 3/1/10 Revised 1/21/13 is 0 n