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HomeMy WebLinkAboutResolution No. 09-074 CITY OF THE COLONY, TEXAS RESOLUTION NO. 09-074 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF THE COLONY, TEXAS, REPEALING RESOLUTION NO. 98-21 WHICH PROVIDES FOR REVIEW, APPROVAL AND REPORTING OF EXPENDITURES OF THE CITY COUNCIL; BY PROVIDING NEW PROCEDURES FOR EXPENDITURE OF CITY FUNDS FOR PUBLIC PURPOSES OF THE CITY COUNCIL; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE WHEREAS, the City Council has previously adopted Resolution No. 98-21 which establishes certain procedures for expenditures for council expenses for and on behalf of the City; and WHEREAS, after review by the city council, it is in the best interest of the City to establish new policies concerning the expenditure funds for and on behalf of the city council within the City budget NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF THE COLONY, TEXAS THAT: Section 1. Resolution No. 98-21, adopted by the City of The Colony on or about November 16, 1998, be and the same is hereby repealed in its entirety. Section 2. The following procedures shall hereby be established for and on behalf of the City for expenditure of city council expenses concerning travel and other reimbursable expenses, which shall be as follows: "City Council Travel Expenditures, Reimbursements and Expenses Policy (1) The City Council shall follow the procedures as established in Procedures #401, Travel Advances/ Reimbursements, as prepared by the Finance Department of the City of The Colony, Texas, as revised 12/08, which is attached hereto as Exhibit A. (2) Where it requires that the director and/or city manager to approve such payments, the council will be the final arbiter of the payment of any and all expenses as a result of approval of council expenses at a duly convened and regular meeting of the city council. (3) Notwithstanding any provisions in Procedure # 401, as revised, the city council shall pre-approve any expense over and above two thousand dollars ($2,000) by approving such expenditure in advance of the date and time in which such expense will be incurred." Page 1 TM 39473.76.092809 Section 3. If any article, paragraph, subdivision, clause or provision of this resolution be adjudged invalid or held unconstitutional for any reason, such judgment or holding shall not affect the validity of this resolution as a whole or any part or provision thereof other than the part so declared to be invalid or unconstitutional. Section 4. This Resolution shall become effective immediately from and after its passage, as the law and charter in such cases provides. PASSED, APPROVED and EFFECTIVE this 6th day of October 2009. e McCo , Mayor City of Te Colony, Tex ATTEST? ~w ///AAA ~~~~/\/fj//',~~~.6 - v I ~V • ~ III Christie Wilson, City Secretary APPROV S TO FORM: a Robert E. Hager, Ci Attorney (REH/cdb) Page 2 TM 39473.76.092809 Procedure # *:Tr avc.Avances/lteiin}iu►seent~ Prepared by: Finance Dept. Effective Date: 6/97 Revised Date: 10/98 Revised Date: 12/98 Revised Date: 10/02 Revised Date: 3/04 Revised Date: 9/06 Cross Reference: Revised Date: 12/08 City Manager's Review and Authorization (December, 2008): t!A~-' STATEMENT OF PURPOSE City employees are frequently required to travel, attend local meetings or otherwise incur expenses in the interest of the City. The following policies and procedures have been instituted to provide guidance to employees on "reimbursable" versus "non-reimbursable" expenses and provide consistent procedures for the processing and accounting of travel requests and expense reimbursement. APPLICABILITY This policy statement is effective for all City employees and City Council members. Questions and problems should be directed to the Finance Department. PROCEDURES Travel expense procedures (Sections A through D below) are applicable when attending functions outside Denton, Collin, Tarrant and Dallas Counties. See Section E for-procedures applicable when attending local seminars, Section F for special procedures relating to holders of City-issued purchasing cards, and Section G for canceling and substituting trips. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE APPLICABILITY PROCEDURES A. Approval of Travel B. Definition of Allowable versus Non-Allowable Expenses I. Transportation a. Air Travel b. City Vehicle c. Personal Vehicle d. Car Rental 2. Lodging 3. Meals 119 a. Actual Cost Reimbursement b. Per Diem Allowance 1. Full days 2. Partial days 4. Conferences and Seminars 5. Miscellaneous a. Airport Parking b. Personal Phone Calls 6. Non-Allowable Expenses C. Spouse/Family Travel D. Requesting Payment and Reporting Travel Expenses 1. Payment Authorization for Airfare, Lodging and Seminar Fees 2. Advances for Meals and Incidentals 3. Submitting Expense Reports a. Returning Unused Funds b. Requesting Reimbursement E. Local Expenses 1. Mileage 2. Meals 3. Miscellaneous 4. Obtaining Reimbursement F. City Purchasing Cards 1. Local Expenses 2. Travel Expenses 3. Purchasing Card Abuses G. Procedures for Canceling and/or Substituting Trips H. Proof of Travel or Adequate Documentation Appendix A: Travel Request Form Appendix B: Travel Expense Reimbursement Report Appendix C: Detail Record of Mileage Appendix D: For Per Diern Rates or access IRS Web site www.policyworks.gov/orgimain/mt/homepa eg /mtt/perdiem/travel,htm A. APPROVAL OF TRAVEL Prior to making any travel arrangements, employee shall fill out a Travel Request Form (see Appendix A) and have it approved by the employee's department director and in the event of department director's absence, and city manager's approval is required. A copy of the approved Travel Request Form should accompany any Travel Expense Reimbursement Reports (See Appendix B) submitted to Accounts Payable. B. DEFINITION OF ALLOWABLE VERSUS NON-ALLOWABLE EXPENSES The City will pay all reasonable expenses for employee travel, food, lodging, conference registration, tips, parking, taxis and other associated necessities providing the employee 120 submits appropriate documentation. Receipts (except per diem and mileage costs) must accompany all expenses over $25.00. Receipts for all expenses, no matter how small, are greatly encouraged. 1. Transportation: Trips of 150 miles each way or less shall be made by car, using City vehicles (for non-car allowance individuals) whenever possible. Air travel is permissible for trips over 150 miles. Other modes of transportation may be selected by the employee provided they are the most economical. When making travel arrangements, employees shall obtain the lowest possible traveling costs, either through the Internet, travel agent(s) or contracted travel arrangements with convention or seminar hosts. a. Air Travel: Employees shall fly "tourist or coach class". Business or first class travel is not allowed except in emergency situations or if pre-approved by the City Manager. Extended Travel - Employees who extend their travel to qualify for reduced airfares will be reimbursed for additional meals, lodging, rental cars, parking, etc., if two conditions are met: 1) The combined cost of the additional expenses and discount airfare is less than or equal to the non-discounted airfare and related cost. 2) It is in the City's best interest to allow the employee to be absent the additional time. The City allows each employee to accrue the benefits of frequent flier programs if the .airline ticket accruing the frequent flier benefits was not more costly than other available airfares. b. City Vehicle: If driving the City vehicles, the City will reimburse gasoline and similar expenses when valid receipts are submitted. No per-diem mileage reimbursements will be made to employees driving city vehicles. c. Personal Vehicle: Employees who do not have access to City vehicles will be reimbursed for mileage at the current rate approved by the IRS for standard business travel. The Finance Department will notify City employees each year what the rate is. Employees receiving a car allowance should not use City Vehicle unless it is necessary due to load or large number of passengers and will not be reimbursed mileage expenses when traveling within Denton, Collin, Tarrant and Dallas counties. d. Car Rental: Rental cars should not be used except when taxis are inconvenient due to distance or number of local trips to be taken. Employees should decline the liability/collision damage waiver offered on the rental contract, as the City already provides this coverage. Hertz and Avis are under contract and will bill the city directly. 2. Lodging: The City will pay hotel accommodations through the duration of the event, phis the day prior and after, if required to meet flight arrival/departure times or restrictions. Reservations should be made at the single room rate, taking advantage of government, seminar, or other group discounts whenever possible. Please make all hotel reservations prior to requesting payment or travel advance from Accounts Payable. 3. Meals: The City will pay all reasonable meal costs for overnight trips when directly related to City business. Expenses will be paid using either one of the following two methods. Only one method per trip may be used. However, the city manager can approve a combination of actual cost reimbursements and per diem allowance in the same trip in certain circumstances. a. Actual Cost Reimbursement - The actual cost of meals plus tips if reasonable, will be reimbursed to the employee upon receipt of a properly completed 121 Payment Authorization, Travel Expense Reimbursement Report and original receipts. b. Per Diem Allowance - For overnight travel only, an IRS allowable per diem may be used and receipts need not be submitted. The per diem rate includes tips to wait staff. 1. Full days - See the attached list of IRS approved per-diem rates for various cities. 2. Partial day - The per-diem rates apply to full days of travel, 24 consecutive hours. If there is less than a full day of travel during the trip, the Meals and Incidental Expense Breakdown as revised in the Federal Travel Regulation, effective October 1, 2005 as follows: M& IE $39 $44 $49 $54 $59 $64 Breakfast $7 $8 $9 $10 $11 $12 Lunch $11 $12 $13 $15 $16 $18 Dinner $18 $21 $24 $26 $29 $31 Incidentals $3 $3 $3 $3 $3 $3 3. No per diem should be claimed if meals are paid by others, included in conference registration fees, or "ticketed" separately as a conference event. Your receipts should be used instead of the per diem rate whenever possible. If an employee pays for the meals of other City employees, details should be noted on the back of the receipt (names of other employees paid for and their departments). In addition, if meals are paid for a non-city employee, details should accompany the receipt with name, organizations and business purpose. 4. Conference and Seminars: The City subject to the approval of the department director and city manager will pay all conference and seminar registration fees in full. 5. Miscellaneous: The City will reimburse miscellaneous expenses (such as tips, parking, tolls, and taxis) without receipts, providing each expense does not exceed $25.00. However, receipts should be submitted, if obtainable. Only the city manager can authorize an exception if the receipt is lost (over $25.00) and can't be duplicated, a. Airport Parking: Receipts shall be submitted for airport parking at D/FW or Love Field. Long-term parking, at discounted .rates, should be used whenever possible. b. Personal Phone Calls: One long distance phone call to an individual's home is allowed for each day of the trip provided the call does not exceed fifteen minutes and is made from within the United States. The individual shall pay calls in excess of one per day and fifteen minutes. Calls made home from out of the United States shall be limited to one per trip and shall not exceed fifteen minutes. Employees should use mobile phones or phone cards as much as possible to contain long distance phone charges. Calls to City offices are not restricted. 6. Non-Allowable Ex eip ises: The City shall not pay expenses for the following: In-hotel pay television or videos, Health clubs and spas, alcoholic beverages, 122 entertainment unrelated to City business (i.e. attending play or movie with friends), calls to 900 numbers, dry cleaning or laundry. C. SPOUSE/FAMILY TRAVEL When accompanied by a family member, an employee shall pay all incremental costs related to having the family member along on the trip. Examples of incremental costs include the difference in lodging cost between single and double occupancy, and all meals and incidental costs of the family member. Spouses may accompany a City employee on official business with such expenses reimbursed by the City only when the spouse has specific duties to perform for the benefit of the City and such expenses are approved in advance by the City Manager. Estimated costs of spouse travel must be clearly identified on the Travel Request form for approval by the City Manager. D. REQUESTING PAYMENT AND REPORTING TRAVEL EXPENSES I. Payment Authorizations for Airfare Lodging and Seminar Fees: Travel request forms should be approved and hotel reservations made prior to submitting Payment Authorizations or PO's to Accounts Payable for payment of travel costs. A separate Payment Authorization should be submitted for each payee with documentation (an approved Travel Request form can be used as documentation if this is the only backup available). The employee's supervisor or department head shall sign the Payment Authorization and the employee should retain a copy. Any Payment Authorization received incomplete by Accounts Payable will be returned to the employee's supervisor or department head unpaid. When submitting a Payment Authorization for conference registration fees, indicate clearly whether or not Accounts Payable should mail the fee directly. If so, attach both the original registration form to be mailed and copy for accounting. An employee may charge travel expenses including registration fees to conferences or seminars to a City purchasing card. An employee can use purchasing card to register for seminars and conferences on- line. Procedures on using the City purchasing card and procedures on requesting reimbursement through a Travel Expense Reimbursement Report are listed below on Sections D.3 and on the City's Purchasing Card Policy. 2. Advances for Meals and Incidentals: Cash advances for anticipated travel expenses shall be requested no sooner than 10 days and no later than five (5) business days prior to departure. Advance checks will not be released until one week prior to departure. Advances are intended to cover the cost of meals, taxis and similar incidental out-of-pocket expenses, generally NOT airfare, lodging or conference fees, which should be paid directly to the travel agent, hotel or conference sponsor by Accounts Payable. The request for an advance shall be submitted on a Payment Authorization form with documentation attached as described under Section 1 above. If the Payment Authorization and Travel Request Form are mathematically accurate and with adequate funds budgeted, a check will be issued and the employee notified. The employee can pick up checks from Accounts Payable no sooner than one week prior to departure unless alternative arrangements have been made. 123 3. Submitting Expense Reports: All employees who use City funds for authorized trips shall submit an individual Travel Expense Reimbursement Report to Accounts Payable within 30 days of completing the trip. All amounts expended should be listed on the Travel Expense Reimbursement Report, whether paid for by the employee, through employee advance, on a City purchasing card, or by the City. The employee should total all expenses listed and enter that amount in the box marked "Total Trip Cost". The employee should then list all advances received and all amounts paid by the City and deduct these amounts from the "Total Trip Cost" to arrive at the "Amount due the employee" or "Amount due the City". "Amount due the employee" will arise if the employee receives an advance less than the amount he/she pays for trip costs, or if the employee uses his/her personal credit card. If you have an "Amount due the employee", see Section D3.b. below "Requesting Reimbursement". An "Amount due the City" will arise if the employee receives an advance greater than the amount he/she pays for trip cost. If you have an "Amount due the City" see Section D3.a. below "Returning Unused Funds". The employee should attach all receipts to the Expense Report. All individual expenses greater than $25.00 must have a receipt attached or they will not be reimbursed (other than per diem and mileage costs). All receipts are greatly encouraged. Airline ticket stubs and detail hotel receipts should be included, although already paid by the City. Copies of receipts should be used when using a City purchasing card (see F.2. and the Purchasing Card Policy). The Expense Report should then be reviewed and approved by the employee's immediate supervisor and department director and submitted to Accounts Payable. Supervisors and managers should submit their expense reports to their department director for approval. Department director should submit their expense report to the city manager or assistant city manager for approval. The department director is responsible for insuring that all Expense Reports are in accordance with the City's Travel Policy. a. Returning Unused Funds "Amount due the City": In instances where an advance of City funds was made and not entirely used, the employee should return the unused funds to the City Cashier as soon as possible but no later than 30 days after completing the trip and attach the, receipt to the expense report. The unused funds returned should equal the "Amount due the City" on the approved Travel Expense Reimbursement Report. It is recommended that the employee pay by check, which will be his/her proof of payment. Employees will not be issued new travel advances until expense reports have been submitted for all prior trips and "Amounts due the City" has been cleared. b. Requesting Reimbursement "Amount Due Employee": If an employee's cash advance was insufficient to cover all expenses and the employee paid costs "out of pocket", the employee should request reimbursement by attaching the Payment Authorization to the Travel Expense Reimbursement Report for the "Amount Due the Employee". The employee's immediate supervisor shall sign the Payment Authorization. E. LOCAL EXPENSES 1. Milea e: Mileage reimbursement is available for local events directly related to City business, from City Hall or normal work station to the event and back. If the employee goes directly to the event from home, mileage will be reimbursed for distance from home to the event and vice versa. For employees with paid car allowance, and for employees with assigned city vehicles, no 124 i mileage reimbursements are made for local travels within Denton, Dallas, Tarrant & Collin Counties. 2. Meals: Lunch expenses incurred while attending local seminars or events will be reimbursed by the City provided the lunch is an integral part of the seminar or event and is included in the seminar or event registration fee. Proper substantiation including date, time, location and business purpose is required. The City will not reimburse lunches for local seminars without requiring an overnight stay if the lunch is not included in the seminar or event registration fee. The City shall reimburse cost of lunches if bona fide business purposes are met. If a City employee requests reimbursement, the assumption will be made that business discussions took place during the meal. Dinner expenses incurred while attending local seminars or events will be reimbursed by the City in full providing the dinner is an integral part of the event and ticketed as such. Other food expenses for working hunches, work place meetings or other business purposes are reimbursable provided that documentation of the expense and business purpose is submitted and the department director has approved the expense. 3. Miscellaneous: The City will reimburse the employee for expenses incurred for parking, tolls and calls to his/her City office while on local City Business. 4. Obtaining Reimbursement: An employee shall submit a Payment Authorization approved by the immediate manager or department director with appropriate documentation attached. If requesting reimbursement for mileage, the employee shall attach a Detail Record of Mileage, which includes the trip date, odometer readings and destination locations (see Appendix C). Petty cash reimbursements, except for insignificant amounts, are not recommended but if used, must still obtain the proper record of mileage documentation. F. CITY PURCHASING CARDS City-issued purchasing cards are to be used ONLY for travel or other expenses DIRECTLY RELATED to city business. Cardholders shall only charge travel expenses reimbursable under the City's Travel Policy as described herein. Receipts for ALL charges to a City employee's purchasing card should be submitted to the Cardholder. The Cardholder is responsible for reconciling the charges on the monthly bill. Once reconciled, a Payment Authorization form should be submitted with the credit bill and pertinent receipts to Finance with signature authorization as described in Procedure #400. Employees should refer to the City's Purchasing Card Policy for authorized use. 1. Local Expenses: Charges for local expenses should be photo copied and the copy used as backup documentation on the Travel Expense Reimbursement Report as described in Section D.3. All original receipts should be obtained by the Cardholder. 2. Travel Expenses: Charges for travel expenses should be photo copied and the copy used as backup documentation on the Travel Expense Reimbursement Report as described in Section D.3. All original receipts should be obtained by the Cardholder. 3. Purchasing Card Abuses: Abuse of an employee's City purchasing card or violation of this policy may result in card privileges being revoked or other 125 disciplinary action being taken as deemed appropriate. Also, note that the Texas Ethics Commission has issued an opinion stating: "A credit card issued to a public servant under a program where the card is issued at the direction and under the control of the State of Texas for state purposes may not be used for personal expenditures or any other type of expenditure not reimbursable as a State business expense under state law". G. PROCEDURES FOR CANCELING AND/OR SUBSTITUTING TRIPS A new trip can be substituted for a canceled trip providing: I . The total cost of the new trip is equal to or less than the total cost of the canceled trip; and 2. The substitution is approved by the employee's immediate supervisor and department director (approval is made by recording the changes on the Travel Request Form and initialed). If the new trip cost exceeds the original trip cost, a new Travel Request Form should be submitted and any checks issued for the cancelled trip returned to Accounts Payable. If the check has been cashed, deposit a personal check with the City Cashier and return the receipt to Accounts Payable. City employees will be held responsible for checks or cash outstanding for canceled trips until such checks or deposit receipts are returned to Accounts Payable. H. PROOF OF TRAVEL AND ADEQUATE DOCUMENTATION An employee who is advanced or reimbursed for a travel expense must substantiate the cost of each expense for IRS purposes. If no proof of travel or adequate documentation is submitted within sixty days after return from the trip, the amount(s) in question will be considered income included in an individual's W-2 and will be taxed accordingly. 126 APPENDIX A TRAVEL REQUEST FORM FROM: DATE: TRAVEL APPROVAL IS REQUESTED FOR ( ) PERSONS AS FOLLOWS: NUMBER DESTINATION: DATE AND TIME OF TRIP (FROM AND TO): PURPOSE OF TRIP: (attached copy of brochure if conference or seminar) I ESTIMATE TOTAL EXPENSES TO BE AS FOLLOWS, FOR WHICH SUFFICIENT FUNDS HAVE BEEN BUDGETED. AIRFARE AUTO HOTEL MEALS OTHER TOTAL COST ADVANCE AMOUNT REQUIRED DATE NEEDED CHARGE TO ACCOUNT Advance checks will not be released until one week prior to departure. Please submit the request at least 5 working days prior to "date needed" to ensure check will be ready. Approved Disapproved Signature of traveler/prepare City Manager Supervisor/Department Director Approval 127 APPENDIX A TRAVEL REQUEST FORM FROM: DATE: TRAVEL APPROVAL IS REQUESTED FOR ( ) PERSONS AS FOLLOWS: NUMBER DESTINATION: DATE AND TIME OF TRIP (FROM AND TO): PURPOSE OF TRIP: (attached copy of brochure if conference or seminar) I ESTIMATE TOTAL EXPENSES TO BE AS FOLLOWS, FOR WHICH SUFFICIENT FUNDS HAVE BEEN BUDGETED. AIRFARE AUTO HOTEL MEALS OTHER TOTALCOST ADVANCE AMOUNT REQUIRED DATE NEEDED CHARGE TO ACCOUNT Advance checks will not be released until one week prior to departure. Please submit the request at least 5 working days prior to "date needed" to ensure check will be ready. Approved Disapproved Signature of traveler/prepare City Manager Supervisor/Department Director Approval APPENDIX B TRAVEL EXPENSE REIMBURSEMENT REPORT FOR 2009 Traveler's Name: Today's Date: Department: Date of Trip: 9/30/2009 Destination and Purpose of Trip: DATE: 09/30/09 10/01/09 10/02/09 10/03/09 10/04/09 10/05/09 10/06/09 DAY: Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Monday Tuesday TOTAL Expenditure Type Registration: Prepaid? Y N $0.00 Lodging: Prepaid? Y N $0.00 Transportation: Prepaid? Y N $0.00 Meals/Per Diem: Breakfast $0.00 Lunch $0.00 Dinner 0.00 Ti s: $0.00 Parkin : $0.00 Taxi: $0.00 Rental Car: $0.00 Telephone: $0.00 Bus. Entertainment $0.00 i Other: $0.00 TOTAL TRIP COST left to right) $0.00 0.00 $0.00 0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 TOTAL TRIP COST from to to bottom $0.00 MILEAGE RECORD From/To: Subtract: Prepaid Airfare: $0.00 Odometer Readings Beg./End: Prepaid Lodging: $0.00 Total Miles x Rate: x $0.550 Prepaid Seminar: $0.00 Total Mileage Reimbursement: $0.00 Prepaid Credit Card: I hereby certify that the above expenditures represent Subtract: Advance Amount: cash spent for legitimate city business only and do not Check#: include items of a personal nature. Equals: Signature: Amount due to employee (if positive): or to City (if negative): $0.00- Approved b Immediate Supervisor Approved b Dept. Director/City Manager APPENDIX C 2009 MILEAGE REIMBURSEMENT FORM DETAIL RECORD OF MILEAGE NAME: DESTINATION ODOMETER READING TRIP TOTAL RELATED EXPENSES DATE FROM TO START END ODOMETER MILEAGE PARK TOLL OTHER PURPOSE OF TRIP 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TOTALS 0 0 0 0 Mileage Per Diem: $ 0.550 $0.00 GRAND TOTAL: $0.00 Certified by Employee Approved by Director