Policy 05.13 Travel

POLICY TITLE:	Travel
POLICY NUMBER:	05.13
VERSION:	2.0
REVISED DATE:	August 16, 2017
REVIEWED DATE:	March 13, 2018
APPROVAL DATE:	March 22, 2018
EFFECTIVE DATE:	April 2, 2018
NUMBER OF PAGES:	7

1. Description and Purpose This document defines the City policy to be followed when traveling on City of Saint Paul (City) business as well as employee accountability for City funds.

2. Applicability This policy applies to all City employees, volunteers, and Council Members hereinafter referred to as personnel.

3. Failure to Comply Failure to comply with this policy may result in disciplinary action in accordance with any and all disciplinary policies of the City.

1. The City of Saint Paul recognizes that personnel may be required to travel or incur other expenses from time to time to conduct government business and to further the mission of the City. The purpose of this Policy is to ensure that adequate cost controls are in place, travel and other expenditures are appropriate, allowable and reasonable, and to provide a uniform and consistent approach for the timely reimbursement of authorized expenses incurred.

2. The City requires personnel to exercise discretion and good business judgment with respect to travel expenses, report expenses, supported by required documentation, and as expenses were actually incurred. Expenses incurred in excess of expenses paid in advance may be reimbursed upon approval by the immediate supervisor and Finance Department.

i. All personnel traveling on City business must complete a Travel Request Form.

ii. All required account coding and documents must be submitted with the Travel Request Form

iii. Per Diem rates for meals and incidental expenses can be found at http://www.gsa.gov/portal/category/100120.

i. Personnel are required to submit a completed Travel Requisition along with all documentation to their Department Director no less than one (1) week in advance.

ii. The City’s Finance Department and the City Manager shall review and approve or disapprove the travel.

iii. Upon approval Travel Coordinator will book the personnel’s airline, hotel reservations, car rental reservation and prepare information for issuing a check for meals and incidentals.

i. In determining the reasonableness and necessity of travel expenses, the personnel traveling and the personnel authorizing the travel shall consider ways in which the City will benefit from the travel and weigh those benefits against the anticipated costs of the travel. The same consideration shall be taken into account in deciding whether a particular individual’s presence on a trip is necessary.

ii. Determine whether or not there are less expensive alternatives such as participation by telephone or video conferencing, or the availability of local programs or training opportunities, shall be considered.

i. Personnel traveling on behalf of the City may incorporate personal travel with their government related trips only if it does not involve greater expenses to the City.

ii. Any additional expenses incurred as a result of personal travel, including but not limited to extra hotel nights, additional stop overs, meals or transportation, are the sole responsibility of the individual and will not be reimbursed.

i. It is the policy of the City to use the lowest fare wherever possible.

ii. Employees are encouraged to use their frequent flier miles and upgrade certificates to access first-class seating.

iii. Business/First class upgrades are an allowable expense if the following conditions are met:

a) Any flight segment has a schedule in-air flying time in excess of five hours; or

b) The total schedules in-air flight time, including connecting legs, is in excess of seven hours; or,

c) A medical justification has been documented by a primary care provider.

iv. The Travel Coordinator will purchase tickets in advance.

v. Frequent flyer benefits can be retained by personnel but should not be the basis for switching air schedules, hotel accommodations or car rentals unless such choice is reasonably equal in cost to the lowest acceptable alternative.

vi. The City will not reimburse any associate/membership fees for frequent flyer clubs.

vii. Personnel may elect to upgrade travel class at any time if they personally pay the cost difference between the class fare on their ticket and the class fare desired if it does not meet Section II.B.3.d.iii above.

i. All unused airline tickets must be reported to the Travel Coordinator immediately.

ii. Unused refundable tickets reported to the Travel Coordinator will be submitted to the cardholder who made the payment to obtain the credit.

i. Lodging reservations for personnel without a City issued credit card will be made by the Travel Coordinator and booked with a City credit card.

ii. Lodging reservations for personnel with a City issued credit card will be made by that personnel using their City issued credit card.

iii. Personnel’s travel arrangements that are canceled, delayed, and/or rescheduled for any reason are responsible to notify lodging company of the change or cancelation. The City may cover the cost associated with any cancelation or rebooking fees as long as the personnel provided proper notice to the lodging company. Failure by the personnel to provide proper notice to the lodging company will result in the personnel being responsible for any cancelation or rebooking fees, including reimbursement to the City.

i. Personnel will receive a check to cover the cost of meals and incidental expenses.

a) Per Diem rates for meals and incidental expenses can be found at http://www.gsa.gov/portal/category/100120 for the particular country, city or town that the personnel are traveling to.

b) The personnel traveling will be issued the check for per diem the day of expected travel. If the day of travel is on a weekend the check will be issued the normal scheduled workday prior to the day of travel.

ii. Personnel’s travel arrangements that are canceled, delayed, and/or rescheduled for any reason are responsible to return to or reimburse the City for any portion of the meals or incidental or return of the issued check in full.

i. Personnel that are traveling outside the Anchorage area who require a rental car to travel to the site which City business (conference, meeting, training, etc.) is taking place, may request a rental car.

ii. Request for a rental car will be made on the Travel Requisition.

iii. The City has an account with a common rental car company; once the Travel Request Form is approved the Travel Coordinator will reserve a rental car for the personnel in question.

iv. Personnel must meet the requirements of the rental car company to rent a vehicle.

v. Personnel are responsible for any and all damage to the vehicle they rented.

vi. Personnel are responsible for any and all tickets they receive why using the rental car.

i. Regular non-exempt employees may be compensated for time spent traveling based on the following guidelines:

a) Normal commute/travel time to work is not compensated.

b) Single-day out-of-town travel is considered compensable time, excluding commute home-to-work travel time (this includes alternate work site).

c) Overnight out-of-town travel time is compensated when it is within the employee’s regular workday. This is true for hours worked on regular working days during normal working hours and during the corresponding hours on nonworking days.

d) Regular meal period time is not considered compensable time while traveling.

e) If an employee must commute/travel to a location outside of their normal place of work to fulfill work requirements, that actual travel time may or may not be compensated as outlined below:

One)If the travel is within normal work hours it is compensated

Two)If the travel is outside of normal work hours and is on a common carrier or the employee is a passenger in a vehicle other than a common carrier AND work is performed, the travel time is compensated

Three)If the travel time is outside of normal work hours and is on a common carrier or the employee is a passenger in a vehicle other than a common carrier and NO work is performed, the travel time is not compensated.

Four)If travel time is outside of normal working hours and the employee is required to drive, the time is compensated.

One)An employee regularly works from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. from Monday through Friday. The employee travels on business to a location that requires two hours of travel time. The employee leaves Friday at 8 a.m., works the remainder of Friday and Saturday morning, and returns on Saturday at 2 p.m. The two hours of travel time on Friday and the two hours of travel time on Saturday are compensable time. The hours worked on Friday and Saturday are also compensable time.

Two)An employee regularly works from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. from Monday through Friday. The employee travels on business to a location that requires two hours of driving to the airport and a 5 hour flight. The employee leaves Saturday at 8 a.m. and arrives at their destination at 4 p.m. but doesn’t begin work until Monday at 8 a.m. The employee then works until 5 p.m. on Monday and from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesday. After the meeting ends at 5 p.m., the employee catches a cab to the airport, flies and upon arrival at the airport drives two hours home. The employee arrives Wednesday morning at 1 a.m. and returns to work at the regularly scheduled time that day to work the remainder of the week. The two hours driving time on Saturday and 2 hours of driving time on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning is compensable time. The work hours on Monday and Tuesday are also compensable time. Meal times and other time outside the employee’s normal work hours are not compensated, the flight time is not compensated since it is on a common carrier and no work was performed.

i. All authorized travel must be itemized on the Travel Report Form. Travel Report Form must be approved by the personnel’s immediate supervisor and submitted within seven (7) days of trip completion to the Finance Department for review.

ii. Personnel are responsible for any delinquent charges incurred due to lateness of submitting the Travel Report Form.

iii. Personnel should always make and retain copies of submitted reports.

iv. Receipts are required for all expenses. Reimbursement for items or activities requiring receipts will not be made unless receipts are included with the Travel Report Form. The receipt must be original and must include sufficient information to establish the amount, date, place and the essential character of the expenditure.

i. The following types of expenses, if incurred in compliance with this Policy may be submitted for reimbursement.

a) Baggage Fees

b) Excess Baggage Fees

c) Ground Transportation (i.e. Taxi, Shuttle, Car Services, Public Transportation)

d) Water Transportation (i.e. Ferries)

e) Mileage pursuant to business travel

f) Fax Charges

g) Internet Charges

h) Tolls

i) Parking

i. Purely personal expenses while traveling are not reimbursable by the City. The following is a partial listing of items that are not reimbursable:

a) Dues to airline clubs

b) Fines for traffic violations while on government business

c) Damages to an employee’s vehicle while on government business

d) Loss of personal property while on government business

e) Loss of cash advance, government paid airline tickets or personal funds

f) Cost of personal credit cards

g) Purchase of liability insurance coverage on car rental agencies

h) Any expenditures on behalf of terminating or transferring personnel

i) Purchase of life insurance during travel

j) Purchase of clothing and other personal items such as haircuts, newspapers, magazines, tobacco, alcohol, etc.

k) Purchase of in-room movies and entertainment

l) Medical expenses (other than emergency care)

m) Personally owed aircraft/watercraft and charted aircraft/watercraft expenditures.

i. Any exceptions to this policy will be evaluated on a case- by-case basis.

ii. If your travel plans deviate from the policy as outlined above, or if you have concerns regarding the policy as it is written, your request/concern should be submitted in writing to City Manager with a copy provided to the Travel Coordinator. Every attempt will be made to accommodate special circumstances.

1. Travel Request Form.

2. Travel Report Form.

1. 2 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 200

2. Per Diem Rates Look-Up

3. Meals and Incidental Expenses Breakdown

1. Incur - To acquire or come into

2. Expenditures - the action of spending funds

3. Incorporate - to include as part of something else

4. Reimbursement - to make repayment to for expense or loss incurred

5. Delinquent - something that is past due

1. This policy replaces Sections 11.01 and 11.10 Travel of the City Code of Ordinances (CCO).