HomeMy WebLinkAboutOut of State Travel PolicyDate: August 18, 2014
To: Board of County Commissioners
From: Erik Kropp, Deputy County Administrator
Re: Draft Update to Deschutes County Out of State Travel Policy F-1
Included on the Board's August 25, 2014 Work Session agenda is a draft update to the County's
policy "Reimbursement for Miscellaneous Expense and Expenses Incurred While Traveling on
County Business, F-1."
The draft policy streamlines and changes the approval process for out-of-state travel. The current
policy requires Board of Commissioner, County Administrator, and Department Head approval
for out of state travel. The proposed draft policy (attached) changes the approval process for out-
of-state travel to include only the Department Head.
OUT-OF-STATE TRAVEL AUTHORIZATION FORM
Instructions: This form must be signed the Department Head prior to making arrangements for out-of-
state travel. Please attach a copy of the conference and/or training event documentation.
Employee:
Department:
Department Head•
Signature:
Destination of
Travel:
Lodging:
Dates of
Travel:
$
Purpose and
Benefit of
Travel:
Mode of
Transportation:
Other:
Estimated Budget Detail
Transportation
Department Head•
Signature:
$
Lodging:
Risk Management
Approval
(if using a private vehicle
or rental vehicle)
$
Meals:
$
Other:
$
Total Travel Request
$
Note: out-of-state travel shall be arranged by using the most cost-effective means of transportation.
County vehicles may be reserved in advance through the Road Department or BOCC. Reference Policy
No. F-2 "Traveling on County Business". Rental cars shall be arranged through Enterprise Rent-A-Car (1-
800-261-7331) or www.enterprise.com using Deschutes County Risk Management's corporate direct
billing account #DB460R8. Enter account number, hit Search, then enter PIN# ORE.
Employee Signature:
Date:
Department Head•
Signature:
Date:
Risk Management
Approval
(if using a private vehicle
or rental vehicle)
Date:
Deschutes County Finance Policy No. F-1
{ Effective Date: 8/06 DRAFT
REIMBURSEMENT FOR MISCELLANEOUS EXPENSES
AND EXPENSES INCURRED WHILE TRAVELING
ON COUNTY BUSINESS
STATEMENT OF POLICY
It is the policy of Deschutes County to allow for reasonable and necessary travel (including lodging, meal and
transportation) expenses and certain miscellaneous expenses shall be approved for reimbursement. It is
preferable that payments are made directly to vendors for purchases; however, in some cases an employee may
have to incur expenses on behalf of the County.
APPLICABILITY
This policy applies to all County personnel authorized to incur expenses while acting within the scope of
employment with Deschutes County.
POLICY AND PROCEDURE
The following reimbursement guidelines will apply:
1. Request for reimbursement must be submitted on a DESCHUTES COUNTY EMPLOYEE
REIMBURSEMENT FORM (see attached copy). The form must be completed in its entirety, signed
by the employee and approved by the employee's department head or the department head's designee.
A completed DESCHUTES COUNTY ACCOUNTS PAYABLE VOUCHER, with the approved
employee reimbursement form attached, should be forwarded to the Finance Department for
processing.
2. Generally, requests for reimbursement must be made within 60 days of the date the expense was
incurred. If the reimbursement request is $10 or less, employees MAY be reimbursed through the
department's petty cash fund, if such funds are available and if appropriate documentation is
submitted to the department's petty cash custodian.
3—Each reimbursement request for any out-of-state travel MUST be accompanied by a copy of the
approved Out -of -State Travel Authorization Form (see attached copy). The form must be completed
in its entirety and; approved author ed -by the department head
prior to the initiation of any travel arrangements. Out -
43. Mileage will be reimbursed at the rate allowed by the IRS at the time the mileage was incurred. The
rate is adjusted periodically, as announced by the IRS (normally each January).
5;4. When possible, employees shall use the County's existing accounts with vendors, local and non -local,
or shall establish credit with vendors instead of using their personal funds for payment of expenditures
incurred for the benefit of the County. It may be more convenient and expedient for an employee to
incur expenses on behalf of the County; however, employees are encouraged to make these County -
related expenditures only when necessary.
Such purchases should be limited to the following items:
Policy #F -I, Travel and Miscellaneous Expense Reimbursements
Page I of 3
{ Formatted: Indent: Left: 0.25"
a. Lodging and meals purchased while on County -related business.
b. Public transportation (buses, subways, & taxis)
c. Airfare, if Internet fare is less than that available through local travel agency.
While not an all-inclusive list, the following are examples of items that employees should NOT
purchase with their own funds:
a. Furniture
b. Equipment
c. Office fixtures
d. Computer hardware & software
e. Professional services and other labor
f. Subscriptions
g. Books
h. Office supplies
6 5. Payment to vendors for lodging and conferences will be made in advance when appropriate supporting
documentation (e.g. lodging reservation invoice, conference registration form) attached to an approved
Accounts Payable Voucher is submitted to the Finance Department at least three weeks prior to the
date the payment is required.
776. No cash advances for travel will be allowed.
8:7.Original receipts or invoices must be submitted with reimbursement requests, with the exception of
reimbursement requests for the actual cost of meals incurred during employment-related travel (see
#11. a.). Receipts and invoices are itemized listings of all charges. An exception may be granted if a
written explanation is provided when a receipt or invoice is either unavailable or lost.
9,8. It is expected that the least expensive mode of transportation available will be used.
9 9. Lodging expenses will be reimbursed at actual cost and generally should not exceed the
maximum amounts established by the U.S. General Services Administration "GSA" (see #12). See
exceptions to this maximum discussed in paragraph 13.
1-i l0. Meal reimbursement.
a. MEAL COST INCURRED DURING EMPLOYMENT-RELATED TRAVEL:
Employees will be reimbursed for actual cost of meals incurred while on overnight employment-
related travel outside of Deschutes County, up to the maximum amounts established by the GSA for
employment-related travel. As the County cannot reimburse for alcoholic beverage purchases, such
expenditures should not be included in the requested reimbursement. Receipts for meals incurred
during employment-related travel are not required. Cities not listed or located in listed counties will
be reimbursed at the standard CONUS rate noted on the Per Diem tables, as required by IRS
regulations.
b. OTHER MEAL COST:
Employees will be reimbursed for actual cost of meals incurred while attending employment-related
meetings, also referred to as business meetings. Receipts for such meals are required for
reimbursement (See #8 for description of receipt.) In addition to the receipt, the business purpose of
the meeting and the names of those attending the meeting should be noted on the reimbursement
request. If names of those in attendance at the business meeting are not available, a description of the
group and the number of people in the group should be noted. As the County cannot reimburse for
alcoholic beverage purchases, such expenditures should not be included in the requested
reimbursement.
Policy #F-1, Travel and Miscellaneous Expense Reimbursements Page 2 of 3
12 1 1. Maximum rates for meal reimbursements incurred during employment-related travel are
established by the GSA. Maximum rates are based on locality. In the event the employee is in more
than one locality during employment-related travel, the maximum rate allowable (see #11. a.) is the
locality in which the reimbursable expense was incurred. A link to GSA's website is on the County's
intranet home page, (the first link listed under Finance) and can also be accessed directly at
www.gsa.gov/perdiem. These rates, presented in the column labeled "M & IE rate" include taxes &
gratuity. Please note: the M & IE rate includes an amount for incidental expenses ("IE"); therefore the
maximum meal reimbursement is the M & IE rate less the incidental allowance stated on the GSA
website. A copy of the per diem rate information from the website MUST be attached to the
DESCHUTES COUNTY EMPLOYEE REIMBURSEMENT FORM. If request is for other than full
day, (e.g., lunch is provided at a workshop, therefore, reimbursement is limited to breakfast and
dinner), reimbursements are based on the following percentages of the daily meal rate: Breakfast —
20%; Lunch — 30%; Dinner — 50%.
Meals included in the cost of lodging, conference or workshop registration fees (as part of the base
registration fee), airfare or if they are provided at no expense to the employee, should not be included
as part of the employee reimbursement request, and will not be reimbursed to the employee.
Additionally, when the cost of lodging, conference, workshop or airline ticket rate includes a meal, the
employee will not be reimbursed for any additional cost incurred for an alternate meal.
13.12. The following exceptions may be authorized if approved by the County Administrator:
• The cost of a meal in excess of maximum allowance included as part of a conference or seminar
registration fee.
• The lowest priced room at a conference exceeds the maximum lodging reimbursement, or there are
circumstances that do not allow the employee to secure lodging below the maximum level. An
explanation must be included with the Employee Reimbursement Form.
➢ Internet purchases using personal credit cards.
Note: Any request for reimbursement that does not meet the guidelines set in this policy will be
returned to the department of origin.
Approved by the Deschutes County Board of Commissioners , _
Dave Kanner Tom Anderson
County Administrator
Policy #F - I, Travel and Miscellaneous Expense Reimbursements Page 3 of 3