Loading...
CC Resolution 1993-004^C CITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION NO. 93-4 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF LA QUINTA, CALIFORNIA APPROVING THE TRAVEL AND EXPENSE POLICY WHEREAS, the City recognizes that attendance at meetings and conferences serves a vital forum for the exchange of ideas and methods in all areas of municipal administration, presenting and receiving information, and advocating legislation of benefit to the City; and WHEREAS, to that end City employees and officials are occasionally required to expend City funds either by requesting City funds in advance using City issued credit cards, or by spending one's own funds and requesting reimbursement from the City; and WHEREAS, California State Government Code 36514.5 authorizes reimbursement for actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of official duties; and WHEREAS, in order to establish uniform guidelines for City officials and designated staff to follow with regard to travel and expense reporting that arises in the course of conducting City business, the attached Travel and Expense Policy has been developed. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of La Quinta, California, that the attached Travel and Expense Policy be approved. PASSED, APPROVED, AND ADOPTED at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of La Quinta, held on this 19th day of January, 1993, by the following vote, to wit: AYES: Council Members Bangerter, Perkins, Sniff & Mayor Pena NOES: None ABSENT: one vacancy) ABSTAIN: None City of La Quinta, California BIB] 08-14-1998-U01 09:10:11AM-U01 ADMIN-U01 CCRES-U02 93-U02 04-U02 ^C UNDRA L. JUHOLA, City Clerk City of La Quinta, California APPROVED AS TO FORM: DAWN HONEYWELL, City Attorney City of La Quinta, California 1 BIB] 08-14-1998-U01 09:10:11AM-U01 ADMIN-U01 CCRES-U02 93-U02 04-U02 ^C I CITY OF LA QUINTA TRAVEL AND EXPENSE POLICY PURPOSE: To establish uniform guidelines for City officials and designated staff to follow with regard to travel and expense reporting that arises in the course of conducting City business. BACKGROUND: The City recognizes that attendance at meetings and conferences serves a vital forum for the exchange of ideas and methods in all areas of municipal administration, presenting and receiving information, and advocating legislation of benefit to the City. The governing factor in authorizing attendance at these functions is the tangible benefit to accrue to the City as a result of such attendance in relation to the overall expense to the City. To that end City employees and officials are occasionally required to expend City funds. This is accomplished either by requesting city funds in advance, city issued credit cards, or by spending one's own funds and requesting reimbursement from the City. Government Code Section 36514.5 authorizes reimbursement for actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of official duties. The following policies are intended to cover what should be reasonable expenses of business meetings and travel and the reporting thereof and may not be all inclusive. The reasonableness of any unforeseen situations will be decided upon by the City Manager for staff expenditures and by the City Council for elected and appointed officials expenditures. POLICY: 1. RESPONSIBILITY Authorizing officials have the administrative responsibility to determine the reasonableness of travel costs, as justified by the nature of travel. The intent is to adequately account for reimbursable expenses while each employee or official accomplishes essential City Travel as reasonably as possible. The City Manager shall administer the expenditure of travel funds in accordance with appropriations made by the City Council in the annual adopted budget, with the exception of the appropriations made for City Councilmember's travel. 1 BIB] 08-14-1998-U01 09:10:11AM-U01 ADMIN-U01 CCRES-U02 93-U02 04-U02 ^C WI I It is the duty of each employee and official to exercise sound and reasonable judgement in the conduct of city travel. Personal and city travel must not be commingled in such a manner as to increase allowable expense or otherwise affect adversely the interest of the City. 2. TRAVEL AUTHORIZATION Official travel by City employees requires prior written authorization by the appropriate approving authority. The City form, Travel Request and/or Advance", shall be used to document authorization. Travel trips of one-day or less shall not require a pre-approved Travel Request and/or Advance" if no advance is requested, but the second part of the form covering conference update reporting must be completed, if applicable, upon return. Out-of-state travel, round trips over 300 miles, or trips involving overi*ight stay must be approved by the City Council. Upon return, the Conference Update Report" section of the Travel Request" form must be completed. 3. TRAVEL EXPENSES Employees and officials may provide their own funding and file claims for reimbursement, or may apply for an advance of public funds by utilizing the Travel Request and/or Advance" form. All requests for advance of travel funds are to be submitted through the approving authority to the Finance Department at least five(5) working days before the intended date of departure. All advances must be properly accounted for upon termination of travel for which the advance was made. Advance payments do not constitute approval to spend the entire amount advanced. 4. ADVANCE RESERVATIONS**CANCELLATION Employees and officials are encouraged to make reservations for any meeting, convention, or dinner for which the City would bear the cost, which he or she is planning to attend, in sufficient time to allow for lower airfare or reservations costs to be obtained. Cancellations that result in expenditure of City funds will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis by the City Manager to determine whether the employee may be held responsible for the cost. The full Council will make that determination for any canceled public official travel. 2 BIB] 08-14-1998-U01 09:10:11AM-U01 ADMIN-U01 CCRES-U02 93-U02 04-U02 ^C 5. TRANSPORTATION Individuals requesting official travel should attempt to travel by the means most economical to the City. In selecting a particular method of transportation, consideration shall be given for the total cost to the city which will result; including overtime, lost work, and actual transportation costs. A. Automobile Travel Transportation by car may be done either with a personal vehicle or city vehicle. If a personal vehicle is used, net mileage will be reimbursed at the current city reimbursement rti*e. Net mileage equals roundtrip mileage minus any commute miles. Those persons using their own vehicle and receiving a monthly auto allowance, will be reimbursed only for the net mileage in excess of 60 miles. In any case, mileage will not be reimbursed for portions of the trip made for non-business related matters. When the use of public air carrier transportation is approved, private automobile use to and from the airport shall be reimbursed for all allowable miles at the city rate. Commercial auto rental will be allowed if necessary and alternative personal or public transportation is unavailable or unr*asonable. B. Air Travel Air transportation will be acquired at the most economical fare available from the nearest airport. The advance purchase of airline tickets may be handled via a travel agent or directly through the individual airline. Airport parking is an allowable expense. Ground transportation, such as courtesy shuttle service, buses, taxis, or limousine service may be utilized to and from airports. Any costs for such services are reimbursable. 6. LODGING Lodging shall be obtained at the most economical rate available for safe, clean, convenient, and quality accommodations. Factors such as proximity to destination and prevailing rates should be considered for reasonableness. Overnight stay is allowable if one **yi5 travel time is burdensome. Conference headquarters hotels are encouraged as they reduce the costs of other modes of transportation between meetings and conference sites. 3 BIB] 08-14-1998-U01 09:10:11AM-U01 ADMIN-U01 CCRES-U02 93-U02 04-U02 ^C *-*- II A. Regular Lodging An employee is expected to make reservations well in advance whenever possible and to take other actions to ensure that lodging is secured at moderate rates. Lodging shall be limited to the minimum number of nights required to conduct the assigned city business. If an employee or official chooses to arrive earlier or stay later than the length of City business, the additional lodging and other expenses related to this decision are the individual's personal expenses. B. Family Member Accompaniment There is no objection to a spouse and/or other family member(s) accompanying an employee or official on a city business trip, provided that their presence does not detract from the performance of city duties. The attendance at the meetings and conferences by such family members of city employees and officials is to be considered a sole expense of the individual employee and/or official, and all differences in costs brought about by the attendance and/or accompanying travel of a family member shall not be borne by the City, except as provided by Section 8 E). 7. MEALS Meals, except for those included in the cost of the registration, are allowable at actual costs including reasonable tips and room service charges. Expense claims for meals including people other than the claimant shall include the following information: 1. Date expense incurred 2. Parties participating 3. Purpose of the meeting 8. OTHER ALLOWABLE EXPENSES A. Incidental transportation expenses; such as street car, bus, taxi and ferry fares; bridge, toll road and vehicle parking fees; B. Telephone and telegraph charges f*r official business; C. Up to 10 minutes of personal telephone calls per day; D. Fees and tips paid to waiters, porters, baggage handlers, bellhops, hotel maids, and other service personnel; E. Although the City of La Quinta, as every other general law City in the State of California, has no responsibility for expenses incurred by the spouse of City Council members, or employees, the City of La Quinta recognizes that spouse 4 BIB] 08-14-1998-U01 09:10:11AM-U01 ADMIN-U01 CCRES-U02 93-U02 04-U02 ^C t I II II accompaniment at specific City business functions and training programs/workshops is beneficial in some cases. Therefore, City Council may exercise discreti*n as to the reimbursement of the spousal expenses only as they relate to registration and meals at events that specifically extend such invitations, or upon Council approval. F. Business related entertainment functions that are attended to promote City related business objectives are allowable, as long as detail is provided stating who attended and what subjects were discussed. G. Up to $30.00 per day will be allowed as reimbursement(with receipts)for incidental on-the-road expenses that are incurred as a result of being away from your home. On the road expenses may include, but not limited to: in-room video, honor bar, newspaper, necessary dry cleaning, snacks and refreshments. 9. NON-ALLOWABLE EXPENSES Personal expenses are not allowable. These may include, but are not limited to: A. Barber and/or beauty shop charges B. Fines for traffic violations C. Private automobile repairs D. Expenses of any persons accompanying the employee or official on the trip(except as noted in Section 8(E)) E. Personal telephone calls except as allowed in Section 8(c)) F. Purchase of personal items G. Fitness/Health Facilities 10. SETTLEMENT OF TRAVEL EXPENSES Travelers are responsible for the accurate preparation of their claims, and the responsibility of omission or commission cannot be shifted to another individual. A Travel Expense Report" substantiated by receipts which verifies the claimed expenditures, must be submitted to the City Manager within five 5) work days after returning from the conference and/or trip. If an employee or official has drawn expense money in advance, a settlement must be made on the basis of actual expenses. If actual expenses exceed the advance, upon approval by the City Manager, said expenses will be reimbursed to the traveler by the Finance Department. If actual expenses do not exceed the expense advance received, said traveler shall return all unused portions of the expense advance to the Finance Department. 5 BIB] 08-14-1998-U01 09:10:11AM-U01 ADMIN-U01 CCRES-U02 93-U02 04-U02 ^C *. LI To be reimbursed for travel expenditure, an employee or official must sign and submit a Travel Expense Report" form and the Conference Update Report" section of the 1Travel Request" form. No reimbursement shall be made until the Travel Expense Report" form and the Conference Update Report" section of the Travel Request" form has been properly executed and approved by the City Manager with the exception of City Councilmembers. Elected and appointed officials' travel expenditures will be reimbursed if they are within budgetary constraints, all proper forms have been completed and signed, and receipts are attached, The decision of the City Manager shall be final in all cases where conflicts of opinions on reimbursement or allowable expenses exist. For City Council Members and appointed officials, the decision of the council shall be final. PROCEDURES: There are two forms to be utilized for travel and expense reporting see the examples following this section). The first form is the Request for Travel and/or Advance" form. This form is comprised of two basic parts; Part 1 covers the authorization for travel and/or an advance, and Part 2 provides follow-up information on the event attended. The second form is the Travel Expense Report" and is needed in order to create the proper audit trail necessary for recording the expenditure of City funds. Request for Travel and/or Advance" form: Out of state travel, trips in excess of 300 miles, or trips that involve overnight stay must be approved by the City Council. Trips or confejences that do not fall into the above category may be approved by the appropriate department head, or by the City Manager in the case of department head or non-elected officials' requests. The City Manager authorizes his own travel or conferences when they do not fall into the Council approval category mentioned in the first paragraph. Part 1 of this form, Authorization", must be completed prior to the trip or conference. Requests for cash advances are included in this part of the form. If no advances are requested and Council approval is not needed, this part of the form may be filled out upon completion of the trip or conference if the appropriate verbal authorization has been granted. All approved advarice requests are to be submitted to Finance at least five(5) working days before being needed. The 2nd NCR copy of this form will remain with Finance as payment backup documentation. The original will be retained by the traveller until Part 2 is completed and submitted with the Expense Report. 6 BIB] 08-14-1998-U01 09:10:11AM-U01 ADMIN-U01 CCRES-U02 93-U02 04-U02 ^C Advances and all other expenses must be reconciled and approved on the Travel Expense Report" and submitted to Finance within five(5)working days after completion of the trip or conference. Part 2 of this form, Conference Update Report", is to be completed with a short narrative highlighting the subject of the conference and its relevance to City operations. This section must be completed when any conference expenses are incurred. The original Request for Travel and/or Advance" form must be attached to the Travel Expense Report" when that form is submitted. Travel Expense Report" form: The Travel Expense Report" referred to as the expense report") is required to track all travel expenditures of the City. A proper audit trail1 which includes supporting receipts, is necessary to comply with travel reporting requirements. The expense report that must be filled out is designed to be a logically grouped over-view of the total expenditures incurred while traveling. Detail and supporting documentation, including receipts and the Request for Travel and/or Advance" form must be attached as backup to this expense report. There is some space provided on the form itself for explanation detail for any circumstances or situations that may need to be addressed. Meal and business entertainment receipts must identify names of who attended and what business matters were discussed. Itemized hotel bills are needed rather than1 or in addition to, lump sum receipts. Monthly credit card bills are not to be used in lieu of the actual charge receipts. Expense items for which no receipts are available must be identified as such, The expense report is divided into three columns to cover whatever spending situations may occur. Column 1 is to contain allowable business expenses that the claimant has paid for personally, whether by personal credit card, check or cash. Cash advances become personal cash as soon as they are received from the City. Therefore, column 1 should be used when spending cash even if it was received from a City advance. The advance in such cases will also be listed in column 3 as a non- business expense of the City. When columns 1 and 3 are netted together the refund amount will be determined. The Expense Report should alsQ be used for all mileage reimbursement claims whether conference related or not. Column 1 of the form shall be completed with appropriate detail. 7 BIB] 08-14-1998-U01 09:10:11AM-U01 ADMIN-U01 CCRES-U02 93-U02 04-U02 ^C At Column 2 is to contain all City paid expenses. These will primarily be City credit card expenses but may also include any checks or cash that were paid directly to the provider and were not received by the claimant as an advance. Such checks or cash paid directly may not always be readily determined, but the claimant needs to include these amounts to better reflect the total cost to the City. Totals from columns 1 and 2 should be added and the result placed in the *`Total Trip Expense'* box. Column 3 is to contain the amounts which were paid by the City either on check, cash, or credit card for items which are not reimbursable expenses. All efforts should be made not to use City funds for unallowable expenditures, but such situations are sometimes unavoidable. Any advances that the claimant receives, whether check or cash, must be picked up in this column. Advances are considered non-business expenditures by the City and are the property of the recipient. Allowable expenditures that occur in such cases are listed separately in column 1. The total from column 1 is subtracted from the total of column 3 and the balance is due the City. If that result is a negative balance, it is a balance due the claimant. The claimant must sign the expense report certifying its correctness. Council member reports need only Council member signature. All other reports require City Manager and the appropriate department head signature approval. All expense reports will be kept in a segregated payable file whether money is due the claimant or not. Finance will verify credit card receipts with the expense report and then attach the receipts to the credit card billing as backup documentation. Any credit card billing received without receipts is not a reimbursable expense. Any personal charges incurred, or advances not reconciled, are considered a receivable to the City and may be deducted from any checks issued by the City to that individual after the five(5) day report filing deadline has expired. 8 BIB] 08-14-1998-U01 09:10:11AM-U01 ADMIN-U01 CCRES-U02 93-U02 04-U02