ATTACHMENT A
CITY OF VICTORVILLE
COUNCIL POLICY
SUBJECT:
Expense Reimbursement Policy
POLICY NO: CP-2312-
031
SUPERCEDES:
Council Policies: CP-89-2 dated
March 21,1982; CP-91-3, dated April
16, 1991; CP-93-3, dated January 1,
1992; CP-96-1 dated March
12,1996; and CP-01-1 dated
October 16, 2001, CP-12-01 dated
September 18, 2012
Administrative Policies: C-4 dated
December 15, 1975
DATE:
September 18,
2012December 19, 2023
I. RESPONSIBILITY
City officials and employees are required from time to time to attend various meetings, conferences and seminars or other events w hich relate directly to City programs, policies, operations and activities. Accordingly, it is the intent o f this policy to establish rules and guidelines gover ning reimbursement for actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of these dut ies. This policy conforms to the requirements of California Government Code sections 5 3232 through 53232.4 to the extent that such requirements are applicable to charter cities under the California Constitution.
It is the responsibility of each official/ em ployee to accomplish essential City travel a s economically as feasible . The City Manager shall adm inister the provisions of the Expense Reimbursement Policy and shall have the authority to reduce or excl ude ex penses whenever , in his or her judgment, they a re not necessary or reasonable as outlined in this Policy.
II. CITY MANAGER APPROVAL REQUIRED
Prior City Manager approval is re quired for all officials attendance and reimbursement for meetings, conferen ces, seminars and events to be held interstate or internationally.
III. COVERED TRAVEL AND MEETING EXPENSES
All reimbursement for travel, whether one day or multiple days , will require submittal of the City reimbursement form. The Department Head (for employees) and the City Manager (for offi cials) must approve all travel expenses prior to any funds being advanced or reimbursed by the City.
Examples of ex penses that the City will not reimburse include, but are not limited to:
A. The personal portion of any trip;
B. Political or charitable contributions or events;
C. Family expenses, including spouse/partner expenses when accompanying an official/employee on Cit y business, as well as children or pet -related expenses;
D. Entertainment expenses, incl uding theater, movies ( either in -room or at the theater), sporting ev ents (including gym, massage and/or golf related expenses), or other cultural events;
E. Alcohol/personal bar expenses;
F. Laundry or dry cleaning expenses;
G. Non-mileage personal automobile ex penses, incl uding repairs, traffic citations, insurance, or gasoline; and
H. Personal losses incurred while on City business.
Any questions regarding the proprietary of a particular type of expense should be resolved by the Department Head or City Manager before the expe nse is incurred.
IV. TRANSPORTATION
The most economica l mode and class of transportation reasonably consistent with scheduling needs must be used, using th e most direct and time -efficient route. In an effort to reduce emissions and save costs, transportatio n should be considered in the following order:
A. Carpooling: Whenever possible , officials and em ployees will carpool, if they are attending the same event at the same time.
B. City Vehicles: Officials and employees should use a City vehicle whenever possible. There shall be no allowance or reimbursement for transportation when a City vehicle is used. Receipted fuel expenses will be reimbursed.
C. Use of Priv ately Owned Vehicles: Documented automobile mileage is reimbursed at Internal Revenue Service (IRS) rates presently in effect (see www.irs.gov). These rates are designed to compensate the driver f or gasoline, insurance, maintenance, and other expenses associated with operating the vehicle . The IRS rates will not be pai d f or rental vehicles; only receipted fuel expenses will be reimbursed. Mileage reimbursement will be provided from the workplace to and from the event only; the City will not reimburse for mileage for personal travel.
Where an employee is paid a monthly ca r allowance, only documented mileage in excess of 200 miles per event shall be reimbursed.
D. Car Rental: Car rentals should be used when the rental and projected gas is at least $50 less than mileage for privately owned vehicle; or when required for traveling to or from the airport/hotel when the cost is les s than taxi or shuttle fares as outlined herein. Receipted fuel expenses will be reimbursed.
E. Airfare: Staff should make every effort to search for the most economical and reasonable airfare, ta king in to consideration staff safety, total travel time and any other reasonable accomm odations required . First class travel is not an eligible expense . International travel only if approved first by the City Manager unless i n cases involving Council Members, must be approved first by the City Council.
E. Airfare: Airfares that are equal to or le ss than those available through the Enhanced Local Government Airfare Program offered through the League of Californ ia Cities ( www.cacities.org/travel), the California State Association of Counties (http://www/csac.counties.org/default.asp?id=635) and the State of California are presumed be the most economical and reasonable for purposes of reimbursement under this policy.
F. Taxi o r S huttle: Taxi o r S huttle fares may be reimbursed to or from the airport/hotel, including a 15 percent gratuity per fare, when the co st of such fares is equal to or less than the cost of car rentals, gasoline and parking combine d, or when such transportation is necessary for time- efficiency.
V. LODGING
The cost of lodging will be paid by the City a t the rates listed below, plus the cos t of any applicable ta xes. Hotel accommodations for the night be fore or after the event will be considered based on need and be approved by the Department Head and/or City Manager prior to making accommodations. If the event requires no more than two ( 2) hours tr avel and starts at 9:00 a.m. or later, lodging will not be paid f or the night before the event. In general lodging will not be paid for the night after the event. If the event ends after 8:00 p.m. or later, and requires no more than three (3) hours travel time, lodging may be paid. Tips for baggage are not reimbursable.
A. 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.
B. Other Lodging: Officials/employees must request government rates, when available. Lodging rates that are equal to or less than government rates are presumed to be reasonable and hence reimbursable for purposes of this policy.
If the official/employee chooses to incur additional costs that are above the rates established above, then they may do so at their own expense.
VI. MEAL ALLOWANCE
The meal per diem allowance to cover the costs of meals ( including tax and a maximum of 15% tip) shall not exceed $ 100.00 per day. The City does not reimburse for alcohol.
The maximum itemized c ost for individual meals (including tax and tip) is as follows: Brea kfast - $10, Lunch - $15, and Dinner - $25. The meal per diem allowance to cover the costs of meal s ( including tax and t ip) shall not exceed $50.00 per day. T he daily meal per diem shall n ot be u sed if any meals are provided by or included with the registration of the event or h otel. If the event does not provide for special dietary needs, the meal allowance will be given. The City does not reimburse for alcohol.
VII. REGISTRATION
The City shall pay for registration fees as required for attendance.
VIII. COMMUNICATION CHARGES
The City will reimburse telephone, fax, and internet charges utilized for City - related business purposes; such services used for per sonal reasons will not be reimbursed. Where an official/employee is paid a monthly cell phone allowance, no telephone charges shall be reimbursed.
IX. MISCEALLEOUS EXPENSES
Other miscellaneous expenses may be reimbursable if reasonably related and necessary t o the authorized activity which the official/employee is attending as follows:
A. Long-term airport parking, if the travel period exceeds 24 hours.
B. On-site hotel parking or other reasonable parking fees.
C. Bridge and toll fees.
X. MEAL EXPENSES TO FURTHER BUSINESS ATTRACTION, OR
OFFICIAL BUSINESS RELATIONS NEGOTIATIONS
To facilitate official business at a lunch or dinner meeting, there may be times when meeti ngs, meals and business entertainment are ne cessary that exceed the $100 meal expense provided for in Section VI . In these instances, and to help avoid an appearance of impropriety by a member of the Executive or Leadership Team, requirements in Section VI shall be considered. R easonable expenses will be authorized expenses for the purposes o f discussing goods/services/business or re al estate transactions, however, such expenses must first be approved by the City Manager.
X.XI. REIMBURSEMENT FROM OTHER AGENCIES AND
ORGANIZATIONS
Where reimbur sement of all or part of travel and meeting expense is made by other organizations or agencies, such reimbursement shall be submitted directly to the City and shown on the City reimbursement form.
XI.XII. SUBMISSION DEADLINE
The City reimbursement form must be submitted to the Department Head or City Manager within 30 days after returning from the event. To be reimbu rsed for travel expenditures, the city reimbursement form must be s igned and s ubmitted along with receipts supporting the e xpenses. No reimbursement shall be made until the City reimbursement form has been properly ex ecuted and approved by the Department Head or City Manager. The inability t o provide receipts or other supporting documentation of expenses within 30 days, and/or with the City reimbursement form, will result in the expense b eing borne by the official/ employee.
XII.XIII. MEETING REPORTS
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Council Members who attend meetings, conferences , seminars, or events at the City’s expense will provide brief oral or wr itten reports on those meetings at the next regular City Council meeting.
Employees whose total travel/ training cost exceeds $5 00 will provide a brief oral reportor written r eport (less than one page) on the content of the trai ning, conference or event to the Department Head and City Manager. The report. is to be submitted with the City reimbursement form.
XIII.XIV. ON DUTY
All City perso nnel p olicies are in effect while an offic ial/employee is serving in their official capacity.
XIV.XV. TRAVEL ADVANCES
All requests for travel advances shall be sub mitted to the Finance Division as outlined in the Procedures for Use of the City of Victorville Credit Card Account.
Any un used advance must be retuned to the City along with the City reimbursement form and receipts documenting how the advance was used in compliance with this expense reimbursement policy.
XV.XVI. CREDIT CARD USE POLICY
It is the policy of the City to provide selected employees with a City -issued credit card for an efficient, cost -effective method of payment for purchasing transactions such as City business travel related expen ses including, but not limited to, airline ti ckets, hotel reservations, car rentals, parking and meals. City employees are required to follow the Purchasing Card Program Policy Manual when utilizing their City -issued credit card. The use of a City -issued credit card does not eliminate the requireme nt to submit all original itemized receipts. City-issued credit cards may not be used for personal expenses, even if the employee subsequently reimburses the City.
Those employees which do not have a City -issued credit card, can utilize alternative methods of payment such as, a personal credit card, and/or cash by documenting all city related business expenses with the City’s Expense Reimbursement Form and attaching all original receipts, complying with all Ci ty and departmental purchasing policies and p rocedures. In general, all reimbursements to City employees are a use of public funds. The City expects to reimburse reasonable costs incurred by City employees, and City employees are expected to use good jud gement in their expenditure of public funds. For instance, all meals require an itemized receipt, and if the receipt is for more than one employee, the receipt should note all in attendance. Summary meal receipts Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 12 pt, Font color: Auto Formatted: Normal, Justified, Pattern: Clear
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City issued credit cards shall not be used to supplement the C ity’s purchasing process for goods and services.
The City does not issue cr edits cards to individual office holders or employees but does have a City credit card for selected City expenses. City officials/employees may use the City ’s credit card for su ch p urposes as airline tickets and hotel reservations by following the Procedures for Use of the City of Victorville Credit Card Account. Receipts documenting expenses incurred on the City credit card and compliance with this policy must be submitted with the City expense reimbursement form.
City credit c ards may not be used for personal expenses, even if the official/employee subsequently reimburses the City.
XVI.XVII. COMPLIANCE WITH LAWS
Officials and employees should be aware that some expenditures may be subject to reporting under the Political Refor m Act and other laws. In addition, all City expenditures are public records subject to disclosure under the Public Record s Act.
XVII.XVIII. VIOLATION OF THIS POLICY
Misuse of public resources or falsifying expense report s in violation of this polic y may result in any or all of the following:
A. Loss of reimbursement privileges,
B. Restitution to the City of Victorville,
C. Civil penalties for misuse of public resources, and
D. Prosecution for misuse of public resources
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