HomeMy WebLinkAboutRes 12-03 Approving Amendments to the Personnel ManualTOWN OF WESTLAKE
RESOLUTION 12-03
A RESOLUTION OF THE WESTLAKE TOWN COUNCIL APPROVING
AMENDMENTS TO THE TOWN'S TRAVEL POLICY AND ITS INCLUSION INTO
THE TOWN OF WESTLAKE PERSONNEL MANUAL.
WHEREAS, the Town of Westlake realizes that updates and refinements to our
standardized personnel policies and procedures are an ongoing and necessary practice; and
WHEREAS, the goal of the Town of Westlake is to provide policies and benefits that are
competitive to surrounding cities; and
WHEREAS, the Town of Westlake desires is to provide employees with a personnel
manual that reflects the goals and vision of the Town's leaders;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE WESTLAKE TOWN COUNCIL:
SECTION 1: That, all matters stated in the recitals hereinabove are found to be true and
correct and are incorporated herein by reference as if copied in their entirety.
SECTION 2: That, the Westlake Town Council hereby approves the personnel travel
policy amendments attached to this resolution.
SECTION 3: If any portion of this resolution shall, for any reason, be declared invalid
by any court of competent jurisdiction, such invalidity shall not affect the remaining provisions
hereof and the Council hereby determines that it would have adopted this Resolution without the
invalid provision.
SECTION 4: That this Resolution shall become effective from and after its date of
passage.
PASSED AND APPROVED ON THIS 23RD DAY JANUARY, 2012.
ATTEST: Laura Wheat, Mayor
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Kelly tdwardY Town Secretary Thomas E. , T wn Ma ager
APPR D S TO FO � OF
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L. tanton , T w ttorney : rn
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Town of Westlake Travel Policy
2.14 Travel Policy
The job duties and responsibilities of Town representatives (employees) occasionally require
attendance at various conferences, seminars, classes, meetings, workshops, or other events
and may require travel to other areas of the metroplex, state, or country. The purpose of this
policy is to establish and maintain prudent stewardship of public funds and ensure that Town
representatives attend conferences, etc., that are necessary, relevant, and important to the
future of the Town.
The following travel guidelines are set forth to serve as a policy statement for business travel
by all representatives of the Town of Westlake. The term "Town representatives" includes
the Mayor, Town Council, appointed Board and Commission Committee Members,
Volunteers, and Town employees.
Assessing Value of Attendance
Those attending a seminar, conference, etc., should review the details of those events to
ensure that attendance would be beneficial in performance of their duties as representatives
of the Town and that funds have been budgeted.
Authorization Procedure
Mayor and Town Council Members - Upon request of Town Council members, the Town
Secretary's office will coordinate registration, reservations, travel accommodations, etc., for
all Town Council members. The Finance Director's office should be contacted to confirm
the availability of budgeted funds.
All employees and Town Council members must prepare a Travel Authorization Form for
Town Manager approval. This form must include a detail of estimated travel expenses.
Board and Commission Committee Members and Volunteers - Appointed board and
commission committee members and volunteers must follow the same guidelines for
Administrative Staff and Employees. The Town Manager must approve the Travel
Authorization Form.
Processing the Travel Authorization Form
All approved Travel Authorization Forms shall be sent to the Finance Department for
processing no later than ten (10) days before funds are needed. The completed Travel
Authorization Form must be submitted with copies of the documentation (program
registration) for the event.
Event/Travel Procedures
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The following guidelines and standards shall be utilized when traveling on Town business.
A. Registration
1. Direct payment to the sponsor of the event is preferable.
2. In the event direct payment to the sponsor is impossible, an individual attendee will
be reimbursed for the actual cost of the registration and/or event costs.
3. Full advantage should be taken of any pre -registration discounts when possible.
4. Vouchers, invoices, advance registration forms, and/or receipts must be submitted as
payment or reimbursement justification.
B. Transportation
Transportation arrangements are based on what provides the most economic advantage to
the Town of Westlake.
Airfare - Airfare will be paid directly to the carrier, travel agency (or reimbursed), based
on coach fare, utilizing all prepaid, special, or discount fares as may be available.
Public Carrier Fares and Car Rental
1. Public carrier fares will be reimbursed based on receipts or prevailing fares based on
the geographic area.
2. Car rental reimbursement will be reviewed upon submission and/or receipt and
prevailing rental rates paid. If necessary, other circumstances will be evaluated in
determining additional reimbursement for the rental.
3. Discounts and special rates should be utilized whenever possible.
Personal Vehicle or Town Owned Vehicle Use
1. Employees attending events, seminars, classes, workshops, etc., in the DFW
metropolitan area regardless of the duration of the class, may be provided a Town
vehicle to attend, if available.
2. If no vehicle is available, employees using their own vehicle will be eligible to
receive a mileage allowance at a rate in accordance with the Internal Revenue Service
allowance. Reimbursement will be based upon actual mileage from the employee's
regular place of work to their destination, or from home to destination whichever is
less.
3. If an employee is required to attend training for an extended period of time (longer
than one work week), the place of training will become the employees regularly
assigned workplace until such training is completed. An employee will not be
eligible for mileage reimbursement in such an instance.
4. To receive mileage reimbursement, the event, seminar, class, etc. must be required by
the Town or approved as personal development related to the job of the employee.
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5. Employees who receive are car allowance will not be eligible to utilize Town -owned
vehicles unless the event, seminar, class, workshop, etc. is greater than sixty (60)
miles from Westlake Town Hall.
6. Employees who receive car allowances are ineligible to receive mileage
reimbursements unless the event, seminar, class, workshop, etc. is greater than sixty
(60) miles from Westlake Town Hall. The employee's mileage reimbursement form
should reflect actual mileage driven minus 120 miles (sixty miles each way).
Overnight Accommodations
1. Room rental will be based on the actual cost of the room, plus tax and parking. Direct
payment or billing from the hotel is preferred.
2. Personal items such as personal telephone calls, entertainment, or other sundry items
not relevant to the public purpose of travel are not reimbursable. When travel time
exceeds a day, one night's accommodations en route to the event and one night's
accommodation on the return trip may be reimbursed.
3. Itemized receipts are required for all reimbursements.
4. Overnight accommodations should not exceed what is considered mid-range in terms
of cost and should take into account the distance from the conference site in order to
reduce transportation costs.
Meals and Incidental Expenses
Meals and incidental expenses may be either reimbursed to the employee utilizing the
guidelines under Section "A" below, or the employee may request a daily per diem.
Approval of per diem advances is required by the employee's supervisor or the Town
Manager.
Travel Advances
Travel advances are provided so that the employee is not required to use personal funds for
Town business.
1. Travel advances must be received by the Finance Department ten (10) business days
prior to the event to allow adequate time for processing.
2. Advances are not to be considered additional compensation to the traveler.
3. Unused portions of travel advances must be returned immediately upon return to
work following a trip. Failure to do so within five days shall be reported to the
Department Director.
4. A daily advance amount of $65 is permitted including travel days.
5. Advances will be denied to travelers with previous advances outstanding over 10 days
and when an expense report has not been filed.
6. Additional advance amounts for mileage are not permitted. Mileage, when allowed, is
a reimbursable expense only.
7. Allowable expenses in excess of the advance amount may be reimbursed upon return
and filing of an expense report.
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A. Reimbursement Method
1. Meals will be reimbursed upon presentation of receipts when travel is outside of the
Town of Westlake for attendance at a seminar, training class, or full day meeting.
2. Meal receipts must be itemized. Alcoholic beverages are not eligible for
reimbursement, and should be deducted from the receipt, or paid separately with the
employee's personal fiends.
3. Meals will be reimbursed at a maximum of $1.5.00 for breakfast, $20.00 for lunch,
and $30.00 for dinner. If a meal exceeds this amount, the employee will be required
to pay the difference.
4. There is a maximum daily reimbursement of $65.00 for meals. Amounts not used
for a meal cannot be applied to another meal.
B. Per Diems
As an alternative to the Reimbursement method, employees may select the option of a daily
per diem for travel and meal expenses. Approval of per diem advances is required by the
employee's supervisor or the Town Manager.
1. Meals
The Town will pay for meals up to the GSA allowance amount when the purchase of
meals is directly attributable to the conduct of Town business. The employee shall
utilize all meals provided by the conference/seminar/meeting.
Incidental expenses for snacks and sundry items and gratuities are included in the
GSA allowance.
Determining GSA Allowance Rate The amount of the GSA allowance is based on
the travel destination. Each travel destination has a GSA allowance rate that is
assigned to it based upon cost of living. The GSA allowance rate for the travel
destination is determined through the following steps:
Step 1: Click on www.gsa.gov
Step 2: Click on Per Diem Rates under the e -Tools: Online Services heading.
Step 3: Click on the applicable US state for the destination Town. Choose the
applicable Meals and Incidental Expense (M&IE) rate from the table. If the
destination Town is not listed in the table, the standard rate provided in the table
should be used.
The GSA meal and incidental allowance shall be prorated (reduced) under the following
conditions:.
• Meal is provided at a conference, seminar, or social event
• Meal is provided on the airline or other mode of transportation
• Meal is eaten at home on the day of the travel before beginning the travel or upon
returning home after the travel.
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The GSA allowance shall be prorated as follows for the conditions listed above:
• Breakfast - 20% of GSA allowance
• Lunch - 30% of GSA allowance
• Dinner - 50% of GSA allowance
The GSA allowance shall not be carried over from one day to the following day during the
travel.
When using the per diem method, all employees must document GSA -allowable per diems
using the Determination of Travel Allowance worksheet. The form shall include the
applicable GSA allowances percentages for meals and other applicable expenses, and total
travel costs.
Supervisors or Department Heads who have managerial oversight for employee business
expense(s) are/is expressly and ultimately responsible authorizing and reviewing travel
expenses and reimbursements.
Meals on traveling days: For the days beginning and ending travel, only those meals within
the travel window should be claimed.
• Days beginning travel:
o Departure times after 10 a.m. — only lunch and dinner should be claimed
o Departure times after 2 p.m. — only dinner should be claimed.
• Days ending travel:
o Arrival times before 12 p.m. — only breakfast should be claimed
o Arrival times before 5 p.m. — only breakfast and lunch should be claimed
Partial Day Reimbursement
An employee who is traveling on official Town business for a continuous period of a
minimum of four hours but less than twenty-four hours, which does not involve an overnight
stay, will be reimbursed based on the per diem breakdown. No partial meal allowance will be
paid for an official business trip of less than four (4.0) hours unless the business meeting
includes a meal.
Joint Expenses
When two or more Town employees incur business expenses jointly (e.g. hotel expenses)
that will be charged to the same account, one person may pay some or all of the joint
expenses and file the travel report covering them. The report should mention the names of all
Town employees whose expenses are included.
Non -Reimbursable Expenses
The following expenses are NOT reimbursable by the Town:
o In -room movie or game rental
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o Health clubs and spas
o Personal articles (i.e. toiletries, magazines, etc.)
o Alcoholic beverages
o Entertainment unrelated to Town business (i.e. attending a movie or play with
friends)
o Business and personal calls from hotels
o Calls to 900 numbers
o Dry cleaning or laundry
o Fines
o Costs resulting from failure to cancel transportation or hotel reservations
Submittal of Completed Expense Report
Employee must document any reimbursable expenses incurred on an Employee Expense
Report (see Appendix section). Receipts must accompany the report to substantiate any
requested reimbursement. Expenses not previously approved by the Travel Authorization
Request Form must be submitted to the Town Manager for approval.
Expense reports should be submitted to the Finance Department within ten (10) business
days of returning from travel.
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