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2659 ORDINANCE NO. 2 ` 51 AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND ORDINANCE NO. 2537 ADOPTING AN AMENDMENT TO THE TRAVEL POLICY FOR CITY EMPLOYEES, ELECTED AND APPOINTED OFFICIALS FOR THE CITY OF WEST MEMPHIS,ARKANSAS,AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES. NOW, THEREFORE,BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WEST MEMPHIS, ARKANSAS, THAT: SECTION 1. The Travel Policy of the City of West Memphis is adopted to read as follows: TRAVEL POLICY This guideline establishes the rule governing the eligibility for payment of expenses incurred by City Employees, elected and appointed officials during travel directly related to official business. These rules provide for the payment of travel funds and for the reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses. Any elected and appointed official or employee will reimburse the City of West Memphis for any and all expenses paid by the City if the individual did not attend the required/recommended classes or sessions. Responsibility The authority for promulgation of rules defining the rates of allowable mileage, food and lodging and similar travel expenses rest with the City Council based on the recommendation of the Personnel Committee. The Finance Department and Purchasing Department ensures'conformity to the procedures in this guideline. Normal audit rules will be applied to establish conformance among city departments. Supervisors are responsible for the dissemination of these procedures to all employees; and for verification and submission of all Requisitions, Request for Travel Forms, Travel Expense Forms, and receipts and/or requests for reimbursement to the Purchasing Department or the Finance Department. The individual employee traveling on official business is responsible for making sure he/she understands this policy and complies with it. Any unusual circumstances or exceptions must be clarified in advance and any deviations must be approved in writing in advance by his or her supervisor. NOTE* Reimburse or reimbursement as it appears anywhere in this procedure, references the fact that detailed documentation must be provided with the Final Travel Expense Report. In order to afford employees, elected and appointed officials, maximum flexibility in the accomplishment of their assigned tasks,the City of West Memphis will pay travel expenses directly related to official business in accordance with amounts authorized herein. Travel expenses for official business may include the cost of out-of-town conferences involving professional associations, intensive training of the "short course" nature and meetings with state and federal authorities on program-related topics. All travel expenses for employees shall be approved by their Director within their approved travel budget. Travel expenses for Department Heads or appointed officials shall be approved by the Mayor. Travel Procedures Transportation An employee may choose to extend travel beyond the time required to conduct the business purpose of the travel. Time and expense incurred in excess of the business purpose are the responsibility of the traveler. These arrangements must be approved in advance, in writing, by the traveler's supervisor. Airline ticket payment will be made for actual coach costs. The traveler has the option of using their own resources (cash, credit card, etc.) to purchase reimbursable tickets, or the following procedure may be utilized for the City to purchase tickets. A Purchasing Requisition payable to the Credit Card Company, Airline Itinerary, and Confirmation Locator Number(supplied by the airline for tickets placed on 24 hour hold) must be submitted to the Purchasing Department or the Finance Department as soon as possible after reservations are made. Transferring tickets is not allowed. FAA regulations state that tickets must be issued in the traveling employee's name. Mileage reimbursement for use of a private vehicle is allowable in the event a City-owned vehicle is not available. Mileage shall be reimbursed at a rate of forty-seven (47) cents per mile (Current IRS rate is 57). Trip distances shall be computed (and printed) using Map Quest or similar software. However,personal vehicle mileage reimbursement shall not exceed the lowest coach airfare available at the time of the travel request(documentation must be provided); nor shall food and lodging expense be for more than one additional day of travel time to and/or from the destination city. Any exceptions to this must have prior approval in writing from the Department Director. Reimbursement for use of personal vehicles to travel to and from the airport will be one round trip if utilizing airport parking, or two round trips if not utilizing airport parking. Mileage is paid from City Hall or the travelers normal work location to the airport and back. If travel is mandated by the manager's written directive on a non-regularly scheduled workday,round trip mileage from the traveler's home of record is authorized. Taxi fare and similar public transportation is reimbursable, for all necessary City business related trips. Rental vehicles require prior written approval from the appropriate Department Director. Written justification for renting vehicles as well as cost estimates for the rental of the vehicle and collision insurance, if you plan to purchase insurance, must accompany all requests for travel. Actual costs of mid-sized or smaller vehicles rented from recognized car rental agencies (Avis, Hertz,National Budget, Dollar etc.) are reimbursable. When more than four(4) employees are traveling to the same destination, reimbursement for actual costs of renting vans shall be allowed. Fuel for City-owned vehicles is reimbursable. Use of City-owned vehicles outside City limits requires written justification from the traveler's manager. Pay for travel for non-exempt employees Travel time as working time In most cases, travel time counts as working time. When travel is considered hours worked, the time must also be counted to calculate overtime as follows: During a normal workday A normal commute to work and back is not typically considered work time. However, travel during the workday is work. For example, if an employee normally works 8:00 am to 5:00 pm, and must drive 15 miles for a meeting at 3:00, the travel time counts as work(it takes place within normal work hours). However, if the meeting ends at 5:00 and the employee goes straight home, this is probably a normal commute and does not count as hours worked, assuming the travel is not much farther than a normal commute (usually, within the same city or community). To another city in the same day Travel time to another city is working time. However, travel from home to an airport or other terminal can be considered a commute that is unpaid. For example, an employee might drive from home to the airport, take a flight to another city for a conference, and return to the airport before driving home (all in the same day). Time spent driving to and from the airport can be considered a normal commute (assuming it is within the same community) and would not have to be paid working time. However, all other travel time (on the plane and at the destination) counts as hours worked that must be paid, even if those hours are outside the normally scheduled hours (i.e., the train leaves at 7:00 a.m. and returns at 6:00 p.m.). Of course, normal meal breaks do not count as hours worked. Overnight travel to another city In most cases, all travel time to another city for an overnight trip counts as paid working time. To use the above example, suppose the employee took a flight to another city and stayed overnight. If travel to another city occurs during normal work hours on a non-workday (i.e., the travel time is required by the manager for work related purposes then it counts as working time. If the employee chooses to travel outside of business hours, when they could have traveled during business hours, then it would not count as working time. Work time while staying overnight for travel purposes the employee will be paid for a normal workday or for any hours of actual time worked. For example, if employees's normal workday is from 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. with one hour for lunch, and the employee has a meeting or training in another town that is also the same as the employees' workday, the employee would be paid as normal. The employee would not be paid after 5:00 pm for time at the hotel or time spent at , dinner. If the employee is required to meet for a dinner meeting,then it would be considered time worked. Food Full day travel shall be defined as an initial departure time prior to 7:00 am and return of at least 7:00 pm. Allowances for travel within Arkansas shall be up to $45.00 for all meals with tips included. Allowances for meals out of state shall be based on the General Services Administration (GSA) travel rates and shall not exceed the total daily amount. Receipts must be turned in with travel forms. Meals for partial day travel shall be paid on a per diem rate depending on departure and arrival time. Partial day travel shall be defined as an initial departure time later than 8:00 am and/or return time of earlier than 6:00 pm. The maximum allowable reimbursement shall be for two meals. The per meal allowance in Arkansas, including tip, shall be: Breakfast-$12.00; Lupch-$20.00; Dinner-$25.00. In cases where a meal is provided by the attended function, unless the employee's supervisor provides prior written approval, the allowance will not be paid for the meal. Reimbursement of meals for other purposes for official city business must state the name of the guest(s), nature of business, and be approved by the Director of the Department based on prior budget approval. The City shall not reimburse the costs of alcoholic beverages. Lodging The City will reimburse charges for room rate, taxes, and work-related expenses where it is reasonably expected that a prudent traveler could not return to their residence. Tips Employees may be reimbursed for tips related to meals and parking, up to 15% of the cost of the meal and parking expense. Parking Expenses incurred for parking are reimbursable. Any airport parking shall be reimbursed at the long-term parking rate. , Submission of Actual Expenses shall be as follows: The traveler must submit a completed copy of the Travel Expense Report (with receipts and/or request for reimbursements)to the Purchasing Department or the Finance Department within 10 workdays of return. After 10 days, all follow up will be addressed through the appropriate Department Head to the traveler. NOTE* Reimbursement as it appears anywhere in this procedure, references the fact that detailed documentation must be the expenses and explain the'business purposes (who, what, when, where, and why) for the expense. Lodging expenses must be itemized by day, and show all miscellaneous expenses. Expenses will not be reimbursed without detailed, supporting receipts. SECTION 2. All ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict herewith are hereby repealed to the extent of any such conflict. • PASSED AND APPROVED this /7 day of ezip9,120 20 • MA41 /IY . Ow%.4.4. RC0 M. LE NDON, MAYOR ATTEST: AL a; PATRICIA BOYD JOPLIN, C CLERK SPONSORED BY: wrks 1 CEIVEC •fr,// _1 00. _ ey