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HomeMy WebLinkAboutResolution No. 084-08 L ct" "E • RESOLUTION BE IT RESOLVED by the Common Council of the City of Rochester that the City adopt a revised personnel policy regarding Travel and Expense Reimbursement. A copy of the policy is attached. PASSED AND ADOPTED BY THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ROCHESTER, MINNESOTA, THIS oWpj aD .-,,OF 12008. PRESIDENT OF SAID COMMON COUNCIL ATTEST: CLERK APPROVED THIS 215i- DAY OF , 2008. MAYOR OF SAID CITY (Se;ar.of the City of . Rochester, Minnesota) R6S 0 5\Adopt.P ers Poli cy.Trave I I Revised 2/6/2008 City of Rochester Travel and Expense Reimbursement Policy • Purpose This policy applies to trips that involve an overnight stay by City employees to accomplish City business,to attend professional association meetings, or to acquire job-related knowledge or skills. 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 advance 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 below—VI. Business Meal Expense. Polic 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 employees of the City should receive prior supervisory approval (by City Administrator for Department Heads; by Department Head, or his/her designee as appropriate for all others). II. Advance for expenses: An advance (minimum amount is $50.00) for expected lodging, meals and related costs may be requested from Finance by completing a voucher with an attached"Advance Expense Allowance Request" signed by the appropriate supervisor. 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. 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 rental agency's insurance coverage (if offered) as the City's liability coverage cannot be utilized if this 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. Reimbursement for use and parking charges of a personal vehicle 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 beyond 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 reimbursed. Reasonable internet access and service charges related to City business will also be reimbursed. Extended Stay: If an extended stay ensures a less expensive airline fare,the employee may request approval for an 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 accompanying the employee. All costs related to spouse or other travel guest must be fully covered by the employee. 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 lodging expense reimbursement. Receipt Exceptions: No receipts are required for related travel costs for tolls or gratuities (15% for meal service and generally accepted amounts for baggage handling or maid service). 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 hotel expenses require actual receipts for reimbursement, however, for M&IE, employees must choose, for each travel event, and for that entire travel event, from one of the two following reimbursement methods: A)Per Diem rate for M&IE by IRS-designated high-cost/low-cost city of travel, or B) Substantiated actual costs up to the maximum daily limit 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 expenses or travel not involving an overnight stay. An employee incurring meal expenses during an overnight stay that also qualifies under IRS • regulations 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 section IV-Business Meal Expense 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 existence at the time of travel. No receipts are required under this method because the IRS reasonably assumes that this limited amount was spent on meals and incidental expenses. Employees will receive reimbursement as follows: 1. For travel to the IRS-designated"high-cost cities" - The IRS-posted"high-cost" (currently $58 /day). 2. For travel to all other cities - The IRS-posted"low-cost"rate" (currently$45 /day). Substantiation of expense 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 for each full day of travel for breakfast, lunch and dinner(including a maximum 15% gratuity, or a gratuity amount fixed by the restaurant, and applicable taxes). 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 accountable travel expense plans. • The $85 daily limit will be reduced when: a) the travel consumes only a portion of a given day(e.g., covers only lunch and dinner), and/or b) a meal or meals are included and provided in the conference registration fee. c) a meal or meals during travel qualify as a"business meal" expenditure under policy VI 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 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. Procedure Within thirty days after travel on behalf of the City has been completed, required receipts • should be attached to the "Personal Expense Invoice" and 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 actual expenses,the employee should submit a check payable to the City.of Rochester for the difference. 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. VI. 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 purpose. 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 provide information for Finance to calculate reimbursement for the incurred meal and gratuity expense of up to 15% 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. Table 2. Localities Eligible for$237($58 M&IE) Per Diem Amount Under the High-Low Substantiation Method(Effective October 1,2007)1-1 • Note:The standard ("low") rate of$152($107 for lodging and $45 for M&IE)applies to all locations within the continental United States (CONUS) not specifically listed below or encompassed by the boundary definition of a listed point. Effective Per Diem Locality Date of County and/or Other $237 State Key City Defined Location Rate AZ Phoenix, Scottsdale Maricopa 1/1 -3/31 Sedona City limits of Sedona 3/1 -4/30 CA Napa Napa All year Palm Springs Riverside 1/1 -4/30 San Diego San Diego All year San Francisco San Francisco All year Santa Barbara Santa Barbara All year Santa Monica City limits of Santa All year Monica 1/1 -3/31 South Lake Tahoe El Dorado 12/1 - 12/31 Yosemite National Park Mariposa All.year 1/1 -4/30 CO Aspen Pitkin 12/1 - 12/31 1/1 -3/31 Crested Butte, Gunnison Gunnison 12/1 - 12/31 1/1 -3/31 Silverthorne, Breckenridge Summit 12/1 - 12/31 1/1 -2/29 Steamboat Springs Routt 12/1 - 12/31 1/1 -3/31 Telluride San Miguel 10/1 - 12/31 Vail Eagle . II year Washington, DC(also the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, and Falls Church,and the DC counties of Arlington and All year Fairfax, in Virginia; and the counties of Montgomery and Prince George's in Maryland) 1/1 -4/30 FL Fort Lauderdale Broward 10/1 - 12/31 Fort Walton Beach, DeFuniak Okaloosa,Walton 6/1 -7/31 Springs Key West Monroe All year 1/1 -2/29 Miami Miami-Dade 10/1 - 12/31 Naples Collier 2/1 -3/31 Palm Beach (also the • cities of Boca Raton, Delray Beach,Jupiter, Palm Beach Palm Beach Gardens, 1/1 -3/31 Palm Beach Shores, Singer Island,and West Palm Beach) Stuart Martin 2/1 -3/31 IL Chicago Cook, Lake All year MA Boston, Cambridge Suffolk; City of All year • Effective Per Diem Locality Date of County and/or Other $237 State Key City Defined Location Rate Cambridge Martha's Vineyard Dukes 7/1 -8/31 Nantucket Nantucket All year MD Counties of Montgomery and All year Prince George's y Baltimore Baltimore City All year Cambridge, St. Michaels Dorchester,Talbot 4/1 -8/31 Ocean City Worcester 6/1 -8/31 Table 2. (Effective October 11 2007) (Continued) Effective Per Diem Locality Date of County and/or Other State Key City Defined Location $237 Rate NH Conway Carroll 7/1 -8/31 NV Incline Village, Crystal Bay, Washoe 6/1 -8/31 Reno, Sparks NY Floral Park, Garden City, Glen Nassau All year Cove, Great Neck, Roslyn Boroughs of Manhattan Manhattan, Brooklyn, All year the Bronx,and Staten Island Queens Queens All year • Saratoga Springs, Saratoga, 7/1 -8/31 Schenectady Schenectady Tarrytown,White Plains, New Westchester All year Rochelle,Yonkers PA Philadelphia Philadelphia All year RI Jamestown, Middletown, Newport 2/1 -11/30 Newport Providence Providence All year UT Park City Summit 1/1 -3/31 Cities of Alexandria, Falls VA Church,and Fairfax; counties All year of Arlington and Fairfax Loudon County Loudon All year Virginia Beach City of Virginia Beach 6/1 -8/31 WA Seattle King All year WI Lake Geneva lWalworth 6/1 -9/30 'Transition rule.A payor who uses the high-low substantiation method in Table 2 for an employee during the first high-cost localities published in the revenue 9 months of calendar year procedure that supersedes Revenue 2008 Procedure 2007-63, as long as those rates must continue to use the and localities are used consistently during this high-low substantiation period for all employees reimbursed under method for the remainder this method. See Transition Rules under How of calendar year 2008 for To Use Per Diem Rate Tables for an example. that employee. For travel on or after October 1, =Revenue Procedure 2007-63 in Internal 2008,and before January Revenue Bulletin No.2007-42. 1,2009,the payor may continue to use the rates and high-cost localities published in Table 2 or the updated rates and