The county will reimburse employees and officials for reasonable business travel expenses necessary to conduct county business based upon budgeted allocation. All employees must receive advance travel authorization from their elected official or department manager for any travel to be reimbursed.
(A) Mileage.
(1) Employees utilizing their personal vehicle for County business shall be reimbursed up to $.44 per mile. Mileage for out-of-town or out-of-state travel and/or meetings/conferences will be paid from the place of work or home to the destination, or in the case of air travel, the airport in which the travel will be initiated, in all cases whichever is the lesser amount. Travel from home to work and work to home is not considered reimbursable mileage. All claims for mileage shall be filed on a Mileage Claim, General Form 101.
(2) Mileage for Howard County courts - home visits outside normal business hours (I.C. 11-13-1-1(c)). Mileage shall be reimbursable for business purposes such as conducting home visits on probation clients with the prior approval of the Court or the Chief Probation Officer/Department Head. In the case of home visits for probation clients, mileage shall only be reimbursable for travel within Howard County.
(a) Please attach a copy of the Google Map, which shows the beginning and ending destination of your travel. If a detour is active in your travel, please add the mileage to your Google Map and initial.
(b) Howard County Board of Health. Mileage shall be reimbursable for business purposes such as conducting inspections with the prior approval of the Administrator of the Health Department. Mileage shall only be reimbursable for travel within Howard County.
(B) Transportation. Whenever practical, travel will be accomplished in a county owned vehicle or via common carrier. Employees are expected to limit travel expenses to reasonable and economical amounts. Air travel shall be reimbursable for coach class only. The expense of parking and or tolls will be reimbursed based upon a supported receipt. The cost of renting a vehicle, excluding personal usage, shall be reimbursable if suitable local public transportation is not available or practicable. The least expensive practical vehicle shall be rented. Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) or Liability Damage Waiver (LDW) insurance covering the rented vehicle is a reimbursable expense.
(C) Subsistence. Employees may be reimbursed for meals including gratuity for travel up to $50 per day. However, for travel days, the per diem for meals shall be reduced depending upon the departure time. For a departure time after 6:00 a.m. the per diem will be reduced by $8; for a departure time after 12:00 p.m., the per diem shall be reduced by $23; and, if the departure time is after 6:00 p.m., no per diem can be reimbursed. Upon returning, per diem for meals shall be reduced depending upon arrival times. For an arrival time prior 6:00 a.m. a per diem will not be reimbursed; for an arrival time after 6:00 a.m. the per diem will be reduced by $42; for an arrival time after 12:00 p.m., the per diem shall be reduced by $23; and, if the arrival time is after 6:00 p.m., a full per diem can be reimbursed. If eligible for full day reimbursement, no limits on meals are required but reimbursement for meals will not exceed the maximum daily subsistence amount. The conference/ meeting agenda and fully itemized receipts for meals are required. No alcoholic beverages are allowed for reimbursement. The employee is not eligible to receive any reimbursement for meals, if the conference/meetings include meals with their agenda. Pre-paid conference meals are assigned the following values in order to determine remaining per-diem for non-paid meals at the same conference/meeting: breakfast $8; lunch $15; Dinner $27.
(D) Lodging.
(1) In-state. An employee may be reimbursed up to a single occupancy room rate of $99.99 plus applicable tax per day or the presumed conference rate for lodging plus applicable tax for double occupancy. Employees of the same sex are encouraged to share a room when traveling to the same destination. Itemized receipts must still be submitted for lodging expenses.
(2) Out-of-state.
(a) An employee may be reimbursed for lodging at the presumed conference rate (for conferences or training) for lodging plus applicable tax or the rate established by the United States General Services Administration for other lodging (not inclusive of conferences or training). Whenever possible, employees of the same sex are encouraged to share a room when traveling to the same destination. Itemized receipts must still be submitted for lodging expenses.
(b) An employee is not entitled to lodging or a subsistence allowance the night before any conference, training seminar, and the like, within the County limits of Marion County, Indiana or within 50 miles from the place of work or home, whichever is the lesser amount.
(c) An employee is entitled to lodging or a subsistence allowance for over-night travel for a two-day or longer conference, training seminar, and the like, or more in Marion County, Indiana, in order to reduce the total cost of the travel expenses.
(3) State called meetings.
(a) State called meeting are meetings that attendance is required by the State Board of Accounts of certain county officials due to their employment or elected position. An employee attending a “state called” meeting shall be reimbursed an allowance based upon the state directive specific to such meeting. Itemized receipts must still be submitted for all travel expenses.
(b) When state statutes govern the amounts of allowable travel reimbursements, those statutes supersede our travel policy. Itemized receipts must still be submitted for all travel expenses.
(E) Return of fugitive. A travel expense advance will be issued based upon an authorized claim form. All reasonable travel expenses will be paid at the rate listed on supported receipts. Completed travel expense reports and receipts for all related expenses must be submitted to the Auditor’s Office within 30 days after travel.
(F) General.
(1) Employees must submit, to the Auditor’s Office, completed Howard County Government Travel Expense Report Form, standard properly itemized receipts, and a Mileage Claim -General Form 101 (applicable to mileage expenses) for all individual expenses within 30 days after travel.
(2) In the instance of a reimbursement request that does not apply with the travel policy the Auditor’s Office may make immediate payments for all approved charges. A second payment for contested expenses will be reimbursed after review and approval by the Howard County Board of Commissioners.
(3) With prior approval, employees on business travel may be accompanied by a family member or friend, when the presence of a companion will not interfere with successful completion of business objectives. Generally, employees are also permitted to combine personal travel with business travel; as long as time away from work is approved, non-business and family related expenses are the responsibility of the employee. Abuse of this business travel expense policy, including falsifying expense reports to reflect costs not incurred by the employee, can be grounds for disciplinary action up to and including termination of employment. Employee pay for travel time shall be determined according to applicable provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
(4) Exceptions to this travel policy may be approved by the Howard County Board of Commissioners.
(Res. 1998-CC-21, passed - -98; Am. Res. 2014-HCCR-12, passed - - )