APPENDIX 10
CITY COUNCIL POLICY REGARDING
REIMBURSEMENT OF COUNCILMEMBER EXPENSES
Authorized Expenses
City funds, equipment, supplies (including letterhead), titles, and staff time must only be used for authorized City business. 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:
(1) Communicating with representatives of regional, state and national government on City adopted policy positions;
(2) Attending educational seminars designed to improve officials’ skill and information levels;
(3) Participating in regional, state and national organizations whose activities affect the City’s interests;
(4) Recognizing service to the City (for example, thanking a longtime employee with a retirement gift or celebration of nominal value and cost); (5) Attending City events;
(6) Implementing a City-approved strategy for attracting or retaining businesses to the City, which will typically involve at least one staff member; (7) Direct expenses, including mileage reimbursement and audio or video tape or DVD costs, related to participation in community outreach programs (that do not involve any political advocacy); and
(8) Meetings such as those listed above for which a meeting stipend is expressly authorized under this policy.
All other expenditures require prior approval by the City governing body.
Examples of personal expenses that the City will not reimburse include, but are not limited to:
(1) The personal portion of any trip, including meals, lodging, and other incidental expenses;
(2) Political or charitable contributions or events;
(3) Family expenses, excluding spouse or significant other’s registration or meal expenses when accompanying Councilmember on City-related business within San Mateo County;
(4) 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;
(5) Non-mileage personal automobile expenses, including repairs, traffic citations, insurance or gasoline;
(6) Costs of alcoholic beverages and
(7) Personal losses incurred while on City business. Any questions regarding the propriety of a particular type of expense should be resolved by the City Council before the expense is incurred.
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Cost Control
To conserve City 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 will be limited to the costs that fall within the guidelines.
Transportation
The most economical mode and class of transportation reasonably consistent with scheduling needs and cargo space requirements must be used, using the most direct and time-efficient route. Charges for rental vehicles may be reimbursed under this provision if more than one Councilmember is attending an out-of-town conference, and it is determined that sharing a rental vehicle is more economical than other forms of transportation. In making such a determination, the cost of the rental vehicle, parking and gasoline will be compared to the combined cost of such other forms of transportation.
Government and group rates must be used when available.
Airfare. When possible, Councilmembers should arrange for air travel to be paid for in advance by the City at the most economical and reasonable round-trip fare consistent with the Councilmember’s scheduling needs. If advance arrangements cannot be made due to lack of advance warning or other extenuating circumstances, Councilmember’s may be reimbursed for the expense of the airfare, so long as it is the most economical and reasonable round-trip fare consistent with the member or employee’s scheduling needs.
Automobile. Councilmembers shall use City vehicles for travel in the performance of official duties, when available. A log sheet shall be provided in all City Council vehicles for Councilmembers to log in destination, dates and mileage for all travel. If a City vehicle is unavailable Councilmembers may be reimbursed for expenses incurred in traveling by personal vehicle on official business at the annual Internal Revenue Service Standard Mileage Rate. The distance of travel will start from the place of work or from home, whichever is closer to the destination point of official business.
Reimbursement shall include road and bridge tolls. Councilmembers shall be responsible for procuring and maintaining liability insurance for their personal vehicles.
Car Rental. Councilmembers should arrange for car rentals to be paid for in advance by the City at the most economical rate available for cars of standard size or smaller. If advance arrangements cannot be made due to lack of advance warning or other extenuating circumstances, Councilmembers may be reimbursed for the expense of car rental. Since the City has no insurance coverage on the first $5,000 of property damage and the first $100,000 of liability coverage, optional insurance coverage for rental cars is both reimbursable and recommended.
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Public Transportation Taxis/Shuttles. Because of the relatively high cost of car rentals, Councilmembers should weigh the cost effectiveness of using taxis, shuttles, or public transportation when travelling out of town and choose the most economical means consistent with time and scheduling constraints. Taxis or shuttle fares may be reimbursed, including a 15 percent gratuity per fare.
Regional Non-Profit or Service Organization Events
Annual Limit for Regional Events and Dinners.
Each Councilmember is subject to a reimbursement limit of $1,500 per fiscal year for attendance at events, including dinners, that benefit non-profit/service organizations (e.g., Kiwanis, Rotary, and Lion’s clubs) and associations of government (e.g. CCAG, ABAG, LOCC Peninsula Davison, San Mateo County Council of Cities) in the San Francisco Bay area.
The Mayor is subject to a reimbursement limit of $2,500 per fiscal year for attendance at said events. If the Mayor requests that another councilmember attend an event in the place of the Mayor, the costs for that event shall be charged against the Mayor’s annual reimbursement limit. Charges for these expenses shall be to City Account Number 4380.
Expenses for attendance at conferences outside of the Bay area (e.g. League of California Cities state conferences or committee meetings) are not subject to the annual reimbursement limit. The annual limit for this category of expenses shall be determined as part of the annual budget process.
Membership dues for any non-profit or service organization are not reimbursable expenses.
Lodging
Lodging expenses will be reimbursed or paid for when the location of the official City business is greater than 50 miles from the Councilmember’s work or home, whichever is closer to the destination.
When possible, Councilmembers should arrange for lodging expenses to be paid in advance by the City at the most economical and reasonable rates for single occupancy lodging that is in a location that is reasonable and convenient in relation to the Councilmember’s scheduling and official business needs.
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.
Other Lodging. Travelers must request government rates, when available. Lodging rates that are equal to or less to government rates are presumed to be reasonable and APPENDIX 10
hence reimbursable for purposes of this policy. Actual lodging costs that exceed the government rate for the area may be reimbursed conditioned upon performance of a good faith effort, evidenced by documentation (e.g., internet search, phone calls) that demonstrate an attempt to find median-priced lodging.
Meals
Councilmembers may be reimbursed for expenses incurred for meals consumed in conjunction with travel on official business. Reimbursable meal expenses and associated gratuities will not exceed $75 per day, excluding alcohol. In compliance with the City’s Administrative Instruction Section IV, No. 2 – Travel and Training Policy and Reimbursement of Expenses.
Such amounts will be annually adjusted beginning January 1st, to reflect changes in the cost of living in accordance with statistics published by the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index, all urban consumers for the San Francisco Metropolitan Area. (The annual adjustment will be based on this area whether travel is within the area or not.)
If a meal is provided by a conference or organized educational activity, or otherwise included in the payment of registration fees, Councilmembers may not be reimbursed for meals purchased in lieu of, or in addition to, the provided meal. Meal expenses incurred by a Councilmember’s spouse or immediate family shall not be reimbursed.
Definition of Nominal Value related to Meals for FPPC Gift Reporting Purposes.
Meals with a value of $15 or less are considered to be of nominal value. Any meal with a value that is not nominal, must however be reported if the value of the meal or a combination of meals exceeds the $50-dollar annual reporting requirements for gifts.
Additional Incidental Expense Reimbursement
Councilmembers may be reimbursed for actual and necessary incidental expenses incurred in connection with a conference, organized educational activity, or other performance of official duties.
Incidental expenses include:
• reasonable gratuities for hotel and airline employees. • baggage fees.
• parking fees.
• cab fares.
• public transportation costs.
• Tolls.
• telephone calls, telegrams, faxing, and special delivery services related to the performance of official duties, telephone calls of a personal nature, hotel internet charges, and other such incidental expenses.
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Councilmembers may be reimbursed for such incidental expenses related to reasonable gratuities for which receipts are not customarily given.
Because the City provides cell phones to Councilmembers, phone reimbursement while traveling out of town should be submitted only if no cell phone coverage exists.
Reimbursement for expenses incurred in placing telephone calls of a personal nature shall be limited to $10 per day for travel within California, and $20 per day for travel outside of California.
All other actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of official duties that are not described in this Policy shall not be reimbursed unless approved before the expense is incurred.
Prohibited Expense Reimbursements
Councilmembers shall not be reimbursed for non-business expenses including, but not limited to, entertainment expenses such as movie rental fees, theater tickets or sporting event fees, fines for parking citations, laundry, replacement fees for lost keys, fees assessed for damage to lodging premises, and expenses incurred pursuant to personal portions of business travel, including extra lodging and meals.
Expense Report Content and Submission Deadline
All Councilmember expense reimbursement requests must be submitted on the Expense Reimbursement Form found in Appendix 3 of this Handbook.
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’s adopted legislative positions and priorities.
Councilmembers must submit their expense reports within 30 days of an expense being incurred, accompanied by receipts documenting each expense. Restaurant receipts, in addition to any credit card receipts, are also part of the necessary documentation.
Inability to provide such documentation in a timely fashion may result in the expense being borne by the Councilmember.
Reimbursements will not be made until after review and approval by the City Manager and the Finance Director (or their designees) for compliance with AB 1234.
Audits Of Expense Reports. All expenses are subject to verification that they comply with this policy.
Reports To Governing Board. At the following City governing body meeting, each official shall briefly report on meetings attended at City expense. If multiple Councilmembers attended, a joint report may be made.
Compliance With Laws. Councilmembers should keep in mind that some expenditures may be subject to reporting under the Political Reform Act and other laws. All agency APPENDIX 10
expenditures are public records subject to disclosure under the Public Records Act, among other laws.
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; (3) the agency’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.