Office of the City Council
220 East Mountain View. Ste. A City of Barstow
Barstow, California 92311-2888
(760) 256-3531
City Council Policy Memorandum
To: City Manager
From: City Council
CC: City Clerk, Treasurer, and City Attomey
Effective Date: December 3, 2018
Subject City Council Policy Memorandum #2018-16, Expense Reimbursement Policy
1. PURPOSE: This memorandum establishes City Council policy regarding any city-related travel, meals, lodging, and other actual and necessary expenses eligible for reimbursement by the City. This includes, but is not limited to conference, training, and education travel.
2. APPLICABILITY: This City Council Policy Memorandum applies to any employee or elected or appointed officials authorized for any city-related travel in which expenses will be incurred on behalf of the City
3. POLICY:
A. Travel at City Expense. The Barstow City Council understands the importance it travel for training, education and conterence representation. his memo is herefore, not intended to discourage travel but rather to establish what th Council deems is a policy that ensures all travel executed on behalf of the city is necessary.
B. Who May Travel at City Expense? Members of the City Council, other elected officials, appointed boards, commissions, and employees of the City of Barstow, both sworn and non-sworn, may incur necessary travel expenses for activities and functions involving City business and be reimbursed for such expenses by the City provided that the travel is pre-approved.
C. Authorized/Reimbursable Expenses. Expenses incurred in connection with the following types of activities generally constitute authorized expenses, as long as the other requirements of this policy are met:
i. Communicating with representatives of regional, state and national government on City of Barstow adopted policy positions; ii. Attending educational seminars designed to improve skill and information levels;
ili. Participating in regional, state and national organizations whose activities affect the City of Barstow's interests;
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iv. Recognizing service to the City of Barstow (for example, thanking a longtime employee with a retirement gift or celebration of nominal value and cost);
Attending City of Barstow sponsored events, for which two tickets will be made available for each Councilmember;
Implementing a City of Barstow approved strategy for attracting or retaining businesses to the City of Barstow, which will typically involve at least one staff member;
vii. Attending local events in his or her capacity as a Councilmember; at such local events, the City will pay for the meals of the Councilmember and spouse or one escort; and
Vill. Engaging in other business related activities with a direct connection to the implementation of adopted City plans, policies, goals or programs.
D. Non-Reimbursable Expenses. Examples of personal expenses that the City of Barstow will not reimburse include, but are not limited to i. The personal portion of any trip;
ii. Political, religious or charitable contributions or events; iii. Family expenses, including partner's or spouse's expenses when accompanying official on City-related business, as well as children- or pet- related expenses, except that the City will reimburse the cost of meals at local events only for each Councilmember;
iv. Entertainment expenses, including theater, movies (either in-room or at the theater), sporting events (including gym, massage and/or golf related expenses), or other cultural events;
v. Non-mileage personal automobile expenses, including repairs, traffic citations, insurance or gasoline;
vi. Personal losses incurred while on City of Barstow business; vii. Cost of alcoholic beverages, medication (prescription or over-the-counter), laundry, dry cleaning, messenger service; and
vili. Optional tours. banguets
considered a personal expense.
E. Questions. Any questions regarding the propriety of a particular type of expense should be resolved by consulting the approving authority before the expense is incurred.
F. Travel Requests - City Employees. Travel for City staff, appointed commission members, contracted, salaried and hourly employees will be approved with the adoption of the fiscal year budget and need not come back to the City Council for a second approval. All requests for travel require approval of the department head or the City Manager, in the case of travel by a department head, and will include the purpose of the travel, destination, and projected costs. Cost data will include the budgeted line item. The exception would be any travel request in 2 of 6
excess of the amount budgeted, which would then require separate City Council review and approval as a consent calendar item.
G. Travel Requests - City Council, Other Elected Officials and Appointed Commission and Committee Members. Travel for City Council, other elected officials and appointed Commission and Committee members requires separate City Council review and approval in advance as a consent calendar item for each instance of travel.
H. Cost Control. To conserve City of Barstow resources and keep expenses within community standards for public officials, expenditures should adhere to the following guidelines. In the event that expenses are incurred which exceed these guidelines, the cost borne or reimbursed by the City of Barstow will be limited to the costs that fall within the guidelines. These guidelines do not require you to take a bus, stay in a cheap motel or eat only fast food. A bus or train may be less expensive than a plane, but the added time away from work may make these slower options more expensive to the City overall. The meal allowances established in these guidelines allow you to eat in moderately priced restaurants.
In all areas, not just economy, you are responsible for exercising good judgment in requesting, arranging and making a trip. It should be thoroughly planned, well in advance. You should not mix personal business with official business if it will cost the City anything in dollars or lost time, or if it will harm the City's interests in any way.
i. Transportation. The most economical mode and class of transportation reasonably consistent with scheduling needs and cargo space requirements should be used. Government and group rates must be used when available. Reimbursement will be made for the most economical form of travel.
ii. Airfare. All air travel on City business should be coach class. ili. Automobile. Automobile mileage is reimbursed at Internal Revenue Service rates presently in effect (see www.irs.gov) and are published by the Finance Department annually. These rates are designed to compensate the driver for gasoline, insurance, maintenance, and other expenses associated with operating the vehicle. This amount does not include bridge and road tolls, which are also reimbursable. The Internal Revenue Service rates will not be paid for rental vehicles; only receipted fuel expenses will be reimbursed
iv. Car Rental. Rental rates that are equal or less than those available through the State of California's website
(http://www.catravelsmart.com/default.htm) shall be considered the most economical and reasonable for purposes of reimbursement under this policy.
v. Taxis/Shuttles. Taxi or shuttle fares may be reimbursed, including a 20 percent gratuity per fare, when the cost of such fares is equal to or les. than the cost of car rentals, gasoline and parking combined, or when suck transportation is necessary for time-efficiency.
vi. Lodging. Lodging expenses will be reimbursed or paid for when travel on official City of Barstow business reasonably requires an overnight stay. 3 of 6
vii. Conferences/Meetings. If such lodging is in connection with a conference lodging expenses must not exceed the group rate published by the conference sponsor for the meeting in question if such rates are available at the time of booking. If the group rate is not available, see next section. vili. Other Lodging. Travelers must request government rates, when available. A listing of hotels offering government rates in different areas is available at http://www.catravelsmart.com/lodguideframes.htm. Lodging rates that are equal or less to government rates are presumed to be reasonable and hence reimbursable for purposes of this policy. ix. Meals. The following amounts (including beverages, taxes and gratuities) are allowed for meals:
Breakfast: $20
Lunch: $30
Dinner: $50
As noted above, receipts are required for all meal costs. For same day travel, expenses for meals are limited to activities outside normal duties Meal expenses incurred while conducting daily work assignments will not be considered reimbursable (i.e. employee evaluations, project discussions, etc.) without prior approval of the City Manager.
Reimbursement for a meal is provided when it is not reasonable for a person to provide his or her own meal (when attending a non-City sponsored conference or a non-City sponsored training course). It is sometimes necessary to conduct City business with non-employees, such as oral board participants or consultants. Actual amounts will be reimbursed with approval from the appropriate approving authority. Such costs should fall within the maximum actual meal limits as described above. The names of the individuals attending the function and the business purpose must be documented on the expenditure reimbursement and original receipts must be attached.
x. Airport Parking. Long-term parking must be used for travel exceeding 24- hours.
xi. Telecommunications. On authorized travel, necessary business-related telephone calls incurred and modem connections for employees with City- issued laptop computers, fax or Internet service may be reimbursed. In addition, individuals may be reimbursed for reasonable costs incurred for phone calls to their personal residences. The Finance Director or Accounting Supervisor shall make the final determination of reasonable costs on a case-by-case basis.
xii. Other. Baggage handling fees of up to $1 per bag and gratuities of up to 20 percent will be reimbursed. Expenses for which City of Barstow officials receive reimbursement from another agency are not reimbursable.
I. Cash Advance Policy. From time to time, it may be necessary for an official to request a cash advance to cover anticipated expenses while traveling or doing business on the City of Barstow's behalf. Such request for an advance should be submitted to the Finance Director or designee on the appropriate form far enough in advance of the need for the advance and consistent with the City's accounts 4 of6
payable schedule so that the advance can be received prior to incurring the anticipated expenses. Such request for an advance should contain the following information:
1. the purpose of the expenditures;
2. the benefits of such expenditures to the residents of the City of Barstow;
3. the anticipated amount of the expenditures (s) (for example, hotel rates, meal costs and transportation expenses); and
4. the dates of the expenditures.
Cash advances will not exceed the expense allowances set forth herein. The minimum amount to be advanced is $50. Any unused advance must be returned to the City of Barstow's treasury within five business days of the official's return along with an expense report and receipts documenting how the advance was used in compliance with this expense policy.
J. Expense Report Content and Submission Deadline. All cash advance expenditures and expense reimbursement requests must be submitted on an expense report form provided by the City of Barstow. This form shall include the following advisory:
"All expenses reported on this form must comply with the City of Barstow's policies relating to expenses and use of public resources. The information submitted on this form is a public record. Penalties for misusing public resources and violating the City of Barstow's policies include loss of reimbursement privileges, restitution, civil and criminal penalties as well as additional income tax liability."
Expense reports must document that the expense in question met the requirements of this policy. For example, if the meeting is with a legislator, the local agency official should explain whose meals were purchased, what issues were discussed and how those relate to the City of Barstow's adopted legislative positions and priorities.
Officials must submit their expense reports within 30 days of an expense being incurred, accompanied by receipts documenting each expense, unless a cash advance has been obtained, in which case the five-business-day deadline (see Restaurant receipts, in addition to any credit card
K. Audits of Expense Reports. All expenses are subject to verification that they comply with this policy.
L. Reports on Travel/Meetings. Members of the City Council and other elected officials shall provide brief reports on meetings attended at the expense of the City of Barstow at the next regular meeting of the City Council. If more than one Councilmember or other elected officials) attended, a joint report may be made.
M. Emergency Travel. The City Manager may approve travel deemed "emergency travel" without prior council approval if in his/her judgment the travel is both vital and necessary. The City Manager will report the authorized "emergency travel" to 5 of 6
the council at its next scheduled meeting. The requirements of paragraph 3L above will still apply.
N. Routine Travel. This travel policy does not involve routine, same-day travel in the course and scope of City business. Under existing policy, staff members are to use available city vehicles for routine, same-day travel activities unless specifically authorized by the City Manager to use their privately owned vehicle and claim mileage reimbursement.
O. Implementation. The City Manager is hereby directed to initiate the appropriate changes to the applicable City policy and procedures manuals to insure that this policy is implemented on a permanent basis and to bring those policy and procedures back to the council for final approval in accordance with the Barstow Municipal Code.
P. Compliance with Laws. City of Barstow officials should keep in mind that some expenditures may be subject to reporting under the Political Reform Act and other laws. All agency expenditures are public records subject to disclosure under the Public Records Act and other laws.
Q. Violation of This Policy. Use of public resources or falsifying expense reports in violation of this policy may result in any or all of the following: 1) loss of reimbursement privileges, 2) a demand for restitution to the City of Barstow, 3) the City's reporting the expenses as income to the elected official to state and federal tax authorities, 4) civil penalties of up to $1,000 per day and three times the value of the resources used, and 5) prosecution for misuse of public resources, pursuant to California Government Code Section 53232.4.
4. All City Council Policy Memorandums will remain in effect until amended or rescinded by majority approval of the City Council.
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