2000 AGN JUN 06 I16 - Laserfiche WebLink

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CITY OF COLTON AGENDA REPORT FOR CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF JUNE 6, 2000 TO: Honorable Mayor Pro -Temp a and City Council Members APPROVAL: Henry T. Garcia, City Manag FROM: Al Holliman, Finance Director '$ SUBJECT: Revised Travel & Training Policy DATE: May 23, 2000 BACKGROUND The City's administrative policy for travel and training has not been updated since March 18, 1997. Numerous aspects of the policy were in need of revision to provide greater clarity and enable more effective oversight. In addition, the Mayor Pro -Tempore previously requested that the policy be modified to provide for aggregate annual limitations and/ or controls related to individual travel. DISCUSSION/ ANALYSIS Administrative policiies are subject to the purview and approval of the City Manager. However, because travel costs are often a sensitive matter, and the City Council has expressed an interest in reviewing/ amending the related policy, staff has agendized this matter for City Council consideration. Attached is the proposed Administrative Policy 2.05.050; Travel, Training, Meeting Expense, and the Use of Credit Cards as revised by staff. As an overall synopsis of the proposed changes, the City Council has been given more control related to potential abuses by individual travelers or individual departments but has been relieved of the necessity to micro - manage every single travel request over $1000. In addition, the policy has been "cleaned -up" to clarify actual practices, provide better control and guidance regarding hotel costs, and more clearly make use of "per diem" in accordance with IRS guidelines. In a true per diem system, meal and incidental expense receipts are not required provided that rates and practices per IRS Publication 1542 are adhered to. The standard daily per diem allowance has been increased to $46 to match the prescribed IRS rate for the Inland Empire. The prior $40 amount had not been increased for a number of years. In addition, the new policy allows for higher reimbursement rates for travel to more expensive areas, provided receipts are submitted. In reviewing the available "document trail" it appears to have been the City's intent to keep in line with IRS rates and procedures for both mileage reimbursement (which we do) and per diem. The revision takes us back to that intent. Instead of having the City Council approve every travel request over $1000, annual limits have been established for each class of City traveler. This provides a mechanism to let the City Council know whenever a traveler is about to exceed his/her annual limit because their approval will be required. Presently, even though the City Council approves travel over $1000 for each occurrence, there is no tabulation or limit regarding how many $1000 trips a person can take. Essentially, one "traveler" could incur $10,000 per year in travel and it would not necessarily be quantified and brought to management's/Council's attention as related to the aggregate annual amount spent. As a result of the proposed policy changes, another control available to the City Council is each department's line item budget for "Travel and Meetings." Currently, the City Manager can approve intradepartment budget transfers from one Item # 16