Travel allowances and reimbursement requirements are as follows:
A. Travel Costs: The city will pay for approved travel costs to include:
1. Public transportation (airline, shuttle, taxi, train, bus, transportation network company, etc.). Travel costs should include local ground transportation at the travel destination.
a. Long distance travel: The city will pay full coach airfare or mileage (not to exceed airfare) at a maximum of the rate allowed by IRS regulations. (Employees are encouraged to obtain reduced airfare when possible.) Airfare should be paid with a department credit card. Use of employee’s personal credit card is discouraged, but reimbursement for a personal credit card purchase may be approved by a department director in exceptional circumstances with adequate documentation.
2. Parking for a private vehicle at a public transportation facility (airport, bus station, etc.) while out of town when a personal vehicle is used to get to the public transportation facility. Alternatively, the city will pay for taxi, transportation network company (“TNC”, i.e. Uber, Lyft) or other commercial transportation to and from the public transportation facility if such costs are less than the combined costs of parking fees and personal mileage reimbursement. Multi-day parking should be in long term parking facilities, unless otherwise justified and approved by department director.
3. Mileage at the approved IRS rate for local and out of town travel in a private vehicle. Employees using a private vehicle for out of town travel will not be compensated for the first one hundred (100) miles round trip if they receive a monthly vehicle allowance.
a. Local travel: Employee must submit itemized mileage records, indicating daily mileage driven. (Preferable information would list beginning and ending mileage but may not always be practical.)
b. Out of town: Employee must keep mileage record and/or rental vehicle receipts to give to the purchasing division.
c. Purchasing will pay for mileage reimbursement based on the current rate allowed by IRS regulations.
4. Use of rental vehicles for business purposes is encouraged for business travel when a city vehicle is unavailable and the department reasonably determines that the overall travel costs of driving, balanced with travel time, is less than air travel or otherwise benefits the city’s interests. Whenever practical, employees should use state contracts and city contracts for rental vehicles, which include insurance coverage for employee drivers.
5. Parking fees and tolls.
6. Transportation costs around the area, in the instance of conferences and seminars (taxi, bus, etc.).
7. The city will pay or reimburse reasonable tips associated with approved business travel expenses (excluding expenses compensated through per diem) at a customary rate not to exceed twenty percent (20%).
8. An employee may extend their stay before or after approved business travel in a location, without per diem, provided the employee:
a. Stays during non-working days or approved vacation leave; and
b. Individually pays for any additional travel expenses incurred for the extended travel, including food, lodging, and transportation.
c. These expenses should be paid separately by employee. In exceptional circumstances where it is difficult or impossible to separate payment sources for extended personal lodging, rental car, and similar travel expenses, an employee may with the pre-approval of a department director be allowed to reimburse the city for extended personal travel expenses incurred by the city.
9. Receipts must be provided on any one cost of twenty dollars ($20.00) or more, other than per diem reimbursements. A detailed itemization for those under twenty dollars ($20.00) will be acceptable, provided the detail includes date, amount, and purpose.
B. Lodging Costs: The city will pay for lodging expense separate from per diem:
1. Lodging costs should be paid with a city credit card, or in exceptional circumstances, by the employee with reimbursement from the city. An itemized copy of the billing must be presented to substantiate payment in either case. Reimbursement is for the actual cost of a reasonable business use double room (if a room is shared with a nonemployee, the employee is expected to pay additional cost beyond the double room rate).
a. Lodging arrangements are the responsibility of the employee.
b. Lodging should usually be paid with a department credit card, but may alternatively be paid through a properly submitted requisition and purchase order. Use of employee’s personal credit card is discouraged but reimbursement for a personal credit card purchase may be approved by a department director in exceptional circumstances with adequate documentation.
c. It is the intent of the city for lodging not to be included in the per diem rate and is to be paid separately.
2. Per diem will be paid at the federally authorized rate for the city in which the conference, convention, or seminar is located.
a. On request for per diem, list the city the employee is traveling to, the date/time of arrival and departure.
b. The federal rate is the amount that can be received and not justify with receipts. Per diem includes expenses for meals, laundry, cleaning and pressing of clothing, fees, tips, baggage man and other.
c. Generally the city will pay for reasonable amounts above the federally established rates. However, in order for the city to comply with federal regulations, the employee must submit receipts for all expenses, not just for those over the per diem rate, in order for the city to reimburse the employee for the excess expenses.
d. An employee's per diem will not be reduced solely because a hotel, conference, or seminar offers meals or snacks as a benefit covered in the general hotel rate or conference/seminar fee, whether or not the employee participates in the meal. However, if the employee chooses to attend an optional meal at a conference or seminar for which a separate price is charged, the employee's per diem will be reduced on a pro-rated basis for the separately provided meal. An employee's per diem will not be reduced because an employee is required to attend an occasional meal paid for by the city or a third party for the purpose of city staff team-building, or marketing, entertaining and conducting business with outside clients and associates.
e. Optional tourist, sporting, social and cultural group entertainment arranged as part of a conference or seminar but which carry an extra charge in addition to the conference or seminar attendance fee shall not be considered a business travel expense. Employees shall individually pay for any such events, including any travel expenses arising from extension of business travel for the sole purpose of attending such events. A department director may grant an exception to this provision by providing a written justification why the event is a legitimate business travel expense attended by the employee for the benefit of the city.
f. When business travel is for less than twenty four (24) hours but more than twelve (12) hours and requires traveling more than fifty (50) miles distance from employee's place of employment and employee's commuting residence, employee is entitled to per diem allowance and may be provided lodging upon department director-written pre-approval.
Per diem allowance is payable to a traveling employee as follows:
When travel is: | Your allowance is: |
More than 12 but less than 24 hours | 75 percent of the applicable per diem rate for each calendar day you are in a travel status |
24 hours or more, on | |
The day of departure | 75 percent of the applicable per diem rate |
Full days of travel | 100 percent of the applicable per diem rate |
The last day of travel | 75 percent of the applicable per diem rate |
C. Travel Advances: When deemed necessary, a travel advance may be requested with a full accounting upon return, with the excess returned or reimbursement of an additional amount for excess expenditures.
D. Receipts: All receipts should be kept and presented to the purchasing division. For convenience, anticipated expenses may be paid to the traveling employee in advance if the following information is known:
1. Travel cost,
2. Room rates,
3. Number of days per diem required.
E. The city will generally use Federal travel regulations and GSA travel policies as a guide to resolving per diem allowance questions not specifically addressed in the city policies and ordinances. A department director may authorize in writing a variance from Federal guidelines unless the Treasurer's office determines that a proposed per diem allowance may violate IRS regulations. (Eff. 10-1-2020)