City Manager’s Directive 028
Travel Policy
CMD 028 Page 1 of 12 DATE: July 1, 2022
CANCELS: June 19, 1997
POLICY The City of Santa Clara (the “City”) expects to pay all reasonable costs incurred by City employees traveling on approved City business; and City employees are expected to use sound fiscal stewardship when expending public funds, and to travel in the most logical and least expensive manner possible.
PURPOSE The purpose of this Travel Policy (the “Policy”) is to define the City’s expectations of its employees who travel in connection with their work responsibilities and to clarify which expenses the City will fund and which expenses are considered the personal responsibility of the traveler. This policy is not intended to cover short trips during work hours made by employees in the course of their regularly assigned work duties.
Local Travel Local travel is travel necessary to conduct official City business and is performed by the most direct route within and adjacent to an employee’s official worksite. Local travel is defined as less than 50 miles from the employee’s home or place of business, whichever is the shortest distance. Comp ensation shall be based upon the number of miles between the trav el destination and either the employee’s designated work location or residence, whichever is the shortest distance. The City will not pay for lodg ing or per diem meal expenses related to local travel as defined above. The City will pay for transportation and parking costs related to the local travel.
Employees can settle their allowable local travel expenses through the petty cash reimbursement process if the request is less than the petty cash limit at the time of reimbursement. Requests larger than the petty cash limit require an accounts payable request for payment.
Conference
and Meeting
Attendance
City employees shall be authorized to join professional and public organizations and attend the meetings and conferences held by such organizations subject to adequate budget appropriations and adherence to this policy.
General
Procedures
and Guidelines
The Policy shall be reviewed annually by the City Auditor’s Office to ensure its consistency with respect to the City's objectives and any modifications must be approved by the City Manager.
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Travel
Authorization
A. City Manager Pre-Travel Authorization Form Required.
City Manager (or designee) authorization is required in advance of travel or the commitm
ent of City funds for the
following:
Travel by Department Directors
Out-of-State travel by any staff
Any exception to this policy
Authorization shall be sought via submittal of a Pre-Travel Authorization Form (Attachment A).
B. Department Director Pr e-Travel Authorization Form
Required.
In-state, overnight travel requires the approval of a
Department Director via submittal of a Pre-Travel
Authorization Form in advance of travel and the commitment of City funds.
C. Department Director or Designated Supervisor
Authorization Required.
A pre-travel authorization form is not required for local travel as defined above, where meal reimbursement, overnight or out-of-state travel is not concerned. Employees are required to obtain approval from their supervisor prior to any business travel for which the City is expected to pay for mileage, bridge tolls and/or parking. This approval can be via email, with a copy of email approval submitted with travel costs. Itemized receipts are necessary to receive reimbursement for all expenses whether through petty cash or accounts payable request for payment. An employee may not approve their own travel documentation under any circumstances.
Travel
Arrangements
Travel arrangements shall be made as far in advance as possible to obtain the best possible fares and rates. Registration for conferences and training shall be made far enough in advance to take advanta
ge of earl y (discounted) fees, and to avoid late
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registration fees. If travel arran gements must be cancelled for any reason, the person who made the arrangements shall cancel them in sufficient time to prevent t he City from incurring unnecessary costs when possible.
At the Department Director’s discretion, one or more persons may be designated as a Travel Coordinator and be assigned
responsibility for making travel arrangements for all business travelers within a department. It is the City’s preference that all travel be booked by designated Travel Coordinators using their City Procurement Cards to secure travel arrangements ahead of all travel. Individual travelers may make their own travel arrangements with their personal credit cards and be reimbursed if it is not feasible for a travel coordinator to do so.
Transportation Travelers shall use whatever mode of transportation is the most reasonable and least expensive. W hen planning the transportation portion of a trip, the em ployee shall consider all aspects of cost to the City including daily expenses, overtime, lost work time as well as actual transportation costs.
Use of a mode of transportation ot her than the most reasonable and least expensive must be documented and have advance approval from the employee’s Department Director. The City will pay only the cost of the most reasonable and l east expensive mode. If the mode of transportation is determined to be a City vehicle, the traveler shall comply with the City Manager’s Directive (CMD) 21 Use and Maintenance of City Vehicles Incl uding General Government/Public Works Pool Vehicles. The difference between the selected mode and the least expensive mode shall be documented and considered the employee’s personal expense at the time of travel authorization.
This paragraph does not apply to s pecial accommodations made to qualified employees under the Am ericans with Disabilities Act provided that the alternate mode of transportation is approved in advance.
A. Air Travel.
Employees shall not limit their air travel options by specifying an airline. The airline offering the lowest fare for a reasonable route shall be selected.
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B. Use of Personal Vehicle.
With the exception of empl oyees who have been assigned a City vehicle or who receive a c
ar allowance, employees shall
be compensated for the use of their private vehicles for business travel at the current IRS standard mileage rate, provided that it is the most reasonable and least expensive method of transportation. Compensation shall be based upon the number of miles between the tr avel destination and either the employee’s designated work location or residence,
whichever is the shortest distance.
Employees that receive a car allowance and are required to travel greater than 50 miles from their work location or residence, whichever is the shortest distance, are eligible to be compensated for the use of their private vehicle for business travel at the current IRS standard mileage rate for miles traveled over 50 each way of the trip (e.g. if travel destination is 80 miles from the work location and 70 miles from the residence, then the employee will receive
reimbursement for 20 miles (70-50=20)).
Employees who do not receive a car allowance may also be compensated at the current IRS standard mileage rate for the use of their private vehicles for routine travel on City business between City facilities or to other locations in Santa Clara or the adjoining communities. Co mpensation shall be based upon the number of m iles between the travel destination and either the employee’s designated work location or residence, whichever is the shortest di stance. Employees must keep a log of such routine travel us ing the Mileage Reimbursement Log (Attachment C). Expense re imbursements for this type of mileage must be submitted monthly.
The City will reimburse all expense s, such as bridge tolls and parking fees, incurred as the result of an employee’s
authorized use of a vehicle while traveling on City business.
Employees requesting reimburse ment for the payment of
such expenses shall obtain it emized receipts and submit them as pa
rt of their travel expenses on the Travel Expense
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Form. Also, whenever possible, employees attending the
same event shall travel together to minimize expenses.
To drive a City or privately-owned vehicle on City business an employee must possess a valid Ca lifornia driver’s license. An owner/driver of a privatel y-owned vehicle used for City business must carry adequate liabi lity insurance coverage in accordance with applicable State law, and be responsible for any damage, service, or repair to the car occurring on the trip, as these costs are included in the City’s per mile cost reimbursement.
In addition, the employee shall charge any additional
personal time spent outside of the normal reasonable travel time during normal work hours to vacation or a similar leave.
C. Train and Other Mass Transit.
Employees shall be compensated for train or other mass
transit fares and fees provided that it is the most logical and least expensive method of travel to the conference,
conference related events, or meeting site. Any incremental cost beyond the basic cost required for the employee to attend a conference or meeting shall be paid for by the employee. In addition, the employee shall charge any
additional personal time spent outside of the normal
reasonable travel time during normal work hours to vacation or a similar leave.
D. Ground Transportation at Destination.
Supplementary transportation within the destination city shall be accomplished by hotel courtesy buses or local shuttle services, if available. Taxi or ride-share (Uber/Lyft) service shall be used only when no other convenient, less costly mode of transportation is available for the employee to travel to the conference, conference related events, or meeting site.
Any incremental cost beyond the basic cost required for the employee to attend a conference or meeting shall be paid for by the employee.
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E. Rental Vehicles.
Rental vehicles shall be used only when no other mode of transportati
on is available or when alternate transportation
would be more expensive or impractical and must be
authorized in advance by the Department Director. If a rental vehicle is authorized, employees shall request the least expensive vehicle category that meets their needs.
Employees are required to purchase and shall be reimbursed for optional insurance coverage for the rental vehicle.
Optional insurance coverage shall include Damage Waiver (DW) (also referred to as Collision Damage Waiver (CDW)) and third-party liability coverage.
F. Travel Time.
Travel time is compensable under certain conditions identified in the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). As a charter city, the City follows current FLSA regulations for determining the compensability for travel time. The FLSA regulations are available at:
http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs22.htm
Lodging The City will pay lodging expenses for approved City travel, including the evening preceding or subsequent to a meeting or business event when the employee w ould otherwise have to travel from his/her residence before 6 a.m. or after 9 p.m. to reach or return from his or her destination. Local travel, as defined previously in this policy, does not qualify for City paid lodging expenses.
Employees are expected to use t he most cost-effective lodging reasonably available. When a confer ence or training session is held at a specific hotel, the City shall pay for actual lodging expenses up to the standard lodging rate advertis ed by the conference or training sponsor unless approved by the Depar tment Director as part of the travel authorization process.
When there is not a specific lodging site associated with official City business, the Cit
y shall pa y for actual lod ging expenses up to the
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GSA maximum rate allowed by location
(http://www.gsa.gov/perdiem). Note that the GSA maximum rate applies to the base room rate only and does not include taxes. Any exception to applying the GSA rate due to the current market rates in the area of travel must be documented in writing and approved, pre-travel, by the Department Director.
Every effort shall be made to obtain lodging at or near the facility where official City business is to ta ke place to minimize travel time and transportation costs. The lodging should also be clean, safe and appropriate for business travel. Government rates are often available and should be sought. T he City will pay for standard room accommodations at the most co st-effective lodging reasonably available. Any incremental cost beyond that of a standard room shall be paid for by the employ ee unless a written exception has been approved by the City Manager (or designee).
Room reservations may be made in advance using a City
procurement card and the employ ee should request a copy of the hotel’s credit card authorization receipt as applicable. This will be used to authorize the hotel to char ge the total room cost, including all taxes, on the Travel Coordinator’s purchasing card. Employees shall personally pay for any additiona l expenses incurred, such as movie rental, mini-bar bills, room service, etc.
Employees shall cancel any reservations for lodging they will not use. Any charge for an unused reservation shall be considered the employee’s personal expense unless failure to cancel the reservation was due to circumstances reasonably beyond the employee’s control.
Meals A. Overnight Travel
The City will pay for an employ
ee’s meals during authorized travel,
including tax and tips and incidentals, up to the per diem amount established by the GSA for the des tination location (available at:
http://www.gsa.gov/perdiem) for a full day of trav el. Per GSA, rules, employees are only eligible for 75 percent of the total per diem amount on the first and last travel day. The Meals & Incidental Expenses (M&IE) column will be used to generate the per diem rate for meals. Use the
guide on http://www. gsa.gov/mie to breakdown
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the per diem amount for each meal. For any meal that is provided by the conference or hotel the appropriate meal amount listed on http://www.gsa.gov/mie must be deducted from the reimbursement request.
The City will not pay for the following:
Meals that the employee elec ts to purchase from another source when the meals are included in the cost of a
conference, training registration fee, or hotel stay. In the event an exception is granted due to dietary restrictions, the meal will be reimbursed on an actual expense basis, up to the applicable GSA rate.
Alcoholic beverages.
B. Non-Overnight Travel
With regard to partial days of travel that is not overnight but exceeds the local travel guidelines detaile d above, the City will pay for meals on a pro-rated basis using GSA meal amounts, as follows:
If the partial day includes travel before 8 a.m. , the City will pay for the employee's breakfast.
If the partial day includes tr avel between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., the City will pay for the employee's lunch.
If the partial day includes travel after 5 p.m., the City will pay for the employee's dinner.
Miscellaneous
Fees/Business
Expenses
A. Gratuities/Tips.
The City will pay reasonab
le a nd customary gratuities and
tips during City business travel, which are included in the standard per diem rate per GSA guidelines.
B. Business Expenses.
The City will pay for goods and/or services deemed
necessary for the completion of official business, such as printer, copier, and computer usage, etc.; for internet usage at actual cost and for all bus iness telephone calls. Cellular phones are often mo
re cost-effective than using hotel phones
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directly and should be consid ered as a primary option.
Whenever possible, employees shall anticipate the need for supplies and shall take what ever they will need with them instead of buying supplies at their destination.
C. Baggage Fees.
If the airline charges for all checked baggage, the City will cover the cost for one checked bag only. Excess baggage charges are not reimbursable.
D. Personal Expenses.
Personal expenses will not be paid by the City. In addition to those items identified as personal expenses throughout this Policy, personal expenses inclu de early bird flight check-in fee, change flight fee (except as otherwise set forth in this Policy), personal transportati on costs outside of the
conference or conference event site, personal telephone calls, in-room movies, spas and gyms, optional recreational events in connection with a conference, laundry or dry
cleaning, miscellaneous sundrie s, or other items of a
personal nature.
Personal travel shall not be mixed with business travel if it will result in (1) additional cost s to the City, (2) employee engaging in personal travel wh ile be compensated, or (3) harming the City’s interest in any way. Any extension of a trip for personal travel must be accompanied by Director approval and supporting documentation of what the trip would have cost with the original business itinerary. The City will reimburse the lesser of the original business itinerary cost or the extended trip cost due to per sonal travel. Any additional cost from the original business itinerary must be covered by the employee. The City will not pay for any expenses of a spouse or other person who a ccompanies an employee on
business travel.
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Settlement of
Trip Expenses
Payment of travel expenses incu rred during the trip using City procurement cards is not permitted. Purchase cards may be used to pre-pay expenses such as flights, hotel, car rental, or conference registration (preferably by a Trav el Coordinator) or may pay these expenses by invoice through accounts payable.
Allowable expenses per this policy dur ing the trip are to be paid out of pocket by employees and reimbursed upon completion of travel.
The City will not provide any adv ance payment of travel costs directly to employees.
Travel
Reimbursement
All employee travel reimbursement requests require either direct supervisor or Department Head approv al prior to submitting to the City Auditor. Direct super visors can approve expense
reimbursement requests if there is no greater than a 10% variance between the pre-approved travel esti mate and the actual expense reimbursement requested. An y reimbursement request with a difference greater than 10% of the pre-approved estimate must be approved by the Department Director.
The City Auditor’s Office is responsible for review and has final approval of travel expense reimbursement requests. Approval shall be based upon the employee’s compliance or non-compliance with the requirements of this policy. Once approved by the City Auditor, the reimbursement request will be fo rwarded directly to accounts payable for processing and email notification will be provided to travel coordinators and/or the employee.
Within 30 days of an employee's return from a business trip, a final, department approved expense report associated with the trip shall be submitted to the City Auditor to be eligible for any reimbursement. The employee must complete a signed Travel Form and supporting documentation to substantiate all reported expenses with the exception of meals, as these are reimbursed based on GSA per diem rates. The documentation should be in its original form and include the following, if applicable:
Pre-travel request authorization as defined by this policy Invoice and trip itinerary from vendor
Event brochure or agenda for conf erence, training, or special event
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Any certificates of completion associated with event
Airfare receipt showing the travel dates and time
Parking receipts showing the travel date and amount paid Transportation receipts showing the travel date and full address to/from the event location
Car rental receipt showing the dates and number of days Final itemized hotel bill or statement showing all charges Documentation showing mile s between destination and the employee’s work location or residence to substantiate the shortest distance driven for mileage
A brief written explanation if a reporting item doesn’t have supporting documentation.
It is the employee’s responsibility to submit the travel expense reimbursement request within the specified timeline.
Uncompleted training will not be paid by the City unless the employee's failure to complete the training was due to a cause outside the employee's control as documented with a memorandum.
Advances The City does not offer advances to employees for travel.
Exceptions to
this Policy
This Policy does not claim to address all contingencies and conditions. However, any exception requires City Manager (or designee) approval in writing for anticipated/known exceptions or unanticipated/unplanned expenses. R equests for exceptions should be accompanied by the traveler’s written justification for the expense.
Examples of exceptions to this po licy include, but ar e not limited to, the following:
Unusual business expenses
Per diem and/or lodging expenses which exceed GSA limits The purchase of one or more meals from another source even though they were includ ed in a conference and/or
seminar registration fee
The use of an alternate mode of transportation
Lodging expenses incurred during local travel
Travel costs exceeding av ailable budget appropriations CMD 028: Travel Policy
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City Auditor to
Conduct
Periodic Audits
The City Auditor shall conduct periodic audits in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards to ensure compliance with this travel policy. A udit results shall be submitted to the City Council.
Cross Ref
erences:
CMD 49 - Membership in Professional Societies and Associations CMD 21 - Use and Maintenance of City Vehicles Including General Government/Public Works Pool Vehicles
Attachments:
A – Travel Authorization Form
B – Travel Expenses Reimbursement Form
C – Mileage Reimbursement Log