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HomeMy WebLinkAbout19-171RESOLUTION NO. 19-171 A RESOLUTION AMENDING THE ST. LUCIE COUNTY MANUAL OF PURCHASING REGULATIONS; DELETING SECTION 21, TRAVEL AND EDUCATIONAL EXPENSES; ADOPTING THE ST. LUCIE COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS TRAVEL/PER DIEM EXPENSE POLICY; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. WHEREAS, the Board of County Commissioners of St. Lucie County, Florida has made the following determinations: 1. On September 24, 1985, the Board of County Commissioners for St. Lucie County, (the "Board") adopted Ordinance No. 85-06 which created a purchasing department. 2. On October 7, 1985, the Board adopted Resolution No. 85-212 which established the purchasing regulations and procedures for St. Lucie County, Florida, as set forth in the St. Lucie County Manual of Purchasing Regulations and Procedures (the "Purchasing Manual"); and since that date the Purchasing Manual has been amended from time to time. 3. Section 21, Travel and Educational Expenses, establishes the County's policies regarding the approval, purchase and reimbursement of expenses for travel required for County purposes based upon the provisions of Chapter 112, Florida Statutes. 4. Section 112.061(14), Florida Statutes, provides for a board of county commissioners to adopt by resolution a different per diem and mileage reimbursement rate as set forth in Section 112.061 if the new rate is not less than the statutory rates in effect for the 2005-2006 fiscal year. 5. In recognition of the fact that the statutory per diem and mileage rates have not kept pace with increases in the actual cost of travel, it is necessary to further amend Resolution 85- 212, as previously amended, by amending the Purchasing Manual to delete Section 21 - Travel and Educational Expenses, and to adopt a separate travel and educational policy which provides for higher per diem and mileage rates. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of County Commissioners of St. Lucie County, Florida: 1. The St. Lucie County Manual of Purchasing Regulations is hereby amended to delete Section 21, Travel and Educational Expenses, as set forth in the attached Exhibit "A." 2. The "St. Lucie County Board of County Commissioners Travel/Per Diem Expense Policy" attached hereto and incorporated as Exhibit "B." 3. This resolution shall become effective upon adoption. After motion and second the vote on this Resolution was as follows: Chair Linda Bartz AYE Vice Chair Cathy Townsend AYE Commissioner Chris Dzadovsky AYE Commissioner Sean Mitchell AYE Frannie Hutchinson AYE 1 PASSED AND DULY ADOPTED this 13th day of August, 2019. ATTEST: V NZAAll i - m 0. FA BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ST LUCIE COUNTY, FLORIDA BY: ; � _ PI chair , APPROVED AS TO FORM AND CORRECTNESS: EXHIBIT "A" ST. LUCIE COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS PURCHASING POLICY MANUAL . ■_RMW IN 11,004-01 MI. go walli if m It IOWA$. ON of NPW MUM � it EXHIBIT "B" ST. LUCIE COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS TRAVEL / PER DIEM EXPENSE POLICY A. Statement of Purpose To establish the required procedures related to travel by St. Lucie County B.O.C.C. employees; to establish procedures to be used to obtain reimbursement of travel expenses; to establish allowable reimbursement rates; and to provide for forms and appropriate accounting methods. B. Definitions Travel — for the purpose of this policy, travel is a seminar/conference that does not exceed 10 consecutive days. Local Travel - Any travel that is within 50 miles from an employee's work site. Class A Travel - Continuous travel of 24 hours or more away from the work site. Class B Travel - Continuous travel of less than 24 hours, but involving overnight absence. Class C Travel - Travel for short or day trips where the traveler is not away from his or her workplace overnight. An overnight stay is not required and the traveler will not be reimbursed on a per diem or a subsistence allowance. Certification Training Sessions - State, National or Professional Certifications directly related to an employee's current position in order to maintain or improve certifications. C. General Poli2y 1. In all cases, first consideration will be given to the public benefit to be derived from the expenditure of public funds for educational travel expenses. Expenditures must have a direct correlation to the position. 2. Travel outside the state of Florida must be justified in writing to and approved by the County Administrator or designee. 3. Budgets for training and education will be justified during the annual budget process. Travel and training requests should be within the approved budget for the training/travel line item although it is understood there may exceptions. 4. Reimbursement of expenses will conform to procedures established by this procedure. Department Heads must approve all travel requests for their respective employees prior to incurring any costs. The Department Head is responsible to insure proposed travel is in the best interest of the County and the employee. 6. As practical, the most cost-effective method of travel and education will be approved by Department Heads. 7. For local travel, as defined, County employees are encouraged to use County vehicles. A hotel stay is not authorized for this travel, unless approved in advance by the County Administrator or designee. 5 8. County employees receiving a monthly auto allowance who use their personal vehicles for travel, will receive mileage reimbursement only for travel in excess of 50 miles from the employee's work site. 9. Mileage reimbursement is computed on the distance from the employee's home or County work site to the final travel destination, whichever is less. 10. Employees may attend educational seminars offering training which improves job skills needed to perform their job responsibilities. As practicable, seminars of a general nature providing improved skills for a group of employees will be offered "in house." 11. Commissioners, administration, department heads, division heads and other employees, as approved by the County Administrator or designee, whose job performance can be most enhanced or whose national or state affiliation brings recognition and distinction to the County, may attend national or state conferences. D. Specific Policies 1. Attendance at local seminars is encouraged as an economical means to acquire information and education. 2. No more than one (1) payment per private vehicle is authorized. No reimbursement of incidental expenses shall be allowed when those costs are incurred and accounted for by another person. For example, two persons traveling in one vehicle cannot both claim a mileage reimbursement. 3. Mileage will be calculated based on the actual mileage as determined by the odometer readings, mileage shown on the official Florida Department of Transportation road map, or other common method such as www.mapquest.com. Mileage will be computed to and from the employee's home or work site location, whichever is less. Reasonable local mileage will also be allowed for use of private vehicle at destination. 4. Per Diem allowance shall be reduced for any meals provided by hotels (other than a continental breakfast) or lodging included in the conference, seminar or meeting registration. S. Reimbursement shall be provided for County employees, Board Members or contractual employees only. The County shall not be responsible for the expenses of spouses, family, or guests. 6. Reimbursement shall be allowed for personal phone calls while on trips for business as long as they are of reasonable duration. The County will reimburse business calls while away on County business provided a receipt is furnished. 7. Advance funding paid directly to employees is not permissible for estimated expenses, such as meal allowances, personal auto mileage, parking/fees/tolls, or other estimated travel expenses. Advance funding is only permitted for hotel parking fees, incidental hotel deposit fees, prepaid registration fees, lodging, or travel services paid directly to a vendor. 8. All Class C (short trips) employee travel and associated training must be authorized by the Department Head prior to incurring any costs. Reimbursement of travel expenses (seminar/conference, mileage to seminar/conference, etc.) for this travel type shall be allowed only with express prior approval from the Department Head. C 9. A minimum of ten (10) working days is required to guarantee allowable advance funding of any direct payments to vendors (prepayment for registration, airline transportation, or accommodations) for approved travel. 10. All requests for reimbursement of travel expenses must be accounted for within ten (10) working days upon returning from the trip. Any employee failing to meet the 10 -day time limit may cause a suspension of future departmental travel. If an employee's employment is terminated, and the travel reimbursement has not been accounted for, the travel reimbursement may be forfeited by the former employee, at the option of the County Administrator. E. Reimbursement of Travel Expenses Reimbursement of travel expenses shall be in accordance with the procedures set forth in this policy. Any amendments to these procedures shall be approved by the County Administrator. Prior to travel, the initial travel request worksheet sheet must be completed and submitted to the department head for approval. Should the traveler require funding in advance this form and all other supporting documentation needs to be submitted to Finance / Clerk of Courts for payment. The final traveling expense reimbursement form must be filled out within 10 days after returning from the travel, in the manner prescribed by the County Administrator, the final travel expenses must be submitted to the Department Director then forwarded to Finance / Clerk of Courts with the supporting documentation to close the travel. F. Allowable Costs of Travel For the purpose of computing reimbursement, travel is classified in three types: Class A, Class B, and Class C. See Section B; Definitions, above. G. Reimbursement for Meal Allowance Rates 1. Breakfast ($9.00) -When travel begins before 7:00 a.m. and extends beyond 8:00 a.m. 2. Lunch ($13.00) - When travel begins before 12:00 p.m. and extends beyond 2:00 p.m. 3. Dinner ($23.00) - When -travel begins before 6:00 p.m. and extends beyond 8:00 p.m., or during nighttime hours on special assignment. No per diem is available for Local travel or Class C travel. If a seminar or conference registration includes breakfast, lunch or dinner, the employee will not receive per diem for any meals provided by hotels (other than Continental Breakfast included in lodging accommodations). H. Transportation 1. Mileage will be reimbursed at the per mile rate of $0.54 when using their personal vehicles. Tolls and parking fees will be reimbursed at actual cost and must be documented with receipts. 2. Taxi, bus, or limousine fares will be reimbursed at actual cost when supported with receipts. 3. The County's does not contract specifically with any one vendor for car rentals. A car rental reservation must be made in advance when the airport, hotel or seminar does not provide regular shuttle service or if the hotel is isolated from any amenities (restaurants, taxis) and taxi service is not a better option. The optional auto insurance on rental vehicles is required to be purchased in the rental agreement and is fully reimbursable by the County. 7 4. Airline tickets can be purchased on-line when using a County procurement credit card. Employees should not use personal credit cards for purchase of airline tickets. All ordinary and necessary costs for a basic travel will be reimbursable. Depending on the airline, those fees can include the price of a ticket, the price of checked baggage, and other unavoidable costs. Should an employee choose to select a seating upgrade, the employee will be responsible for the additional costs unless preapproved by the County Administrator. Documentation for the final travel documentation may include a boarding pass as well as the receipt. 5. Flight Insurance may be purchased by the traveler at the traveler's expense and will not be eligible for reimbursement by the County. Other Costs 1. Other incidental costs not specifically covered above need to be documented for reimbursement and should be attached to the final travel documentation. Alcoholic beverages and taxes are not reimbursable. Movie or cable television fees charged by hotels or airlines are not reimbursable. 4. Tips for taxi fare will be reimbursed at no more than 15% of the fare if a receipt is provided. J. Payment Methods 1. Procurement Card (Each entity vendor cannot exceed the effective limit documented in the County Procurement Card Policy & Procedures Manual.) a. Registration fees. b. Lodging reservations or actual expense. C. Airfare or other required transportation fees. d. Personal credit cards SHALL NOT be used for travel expenses with the exception of incidental expenses directly related to the travel without prior approval by the County Administrator. 2. Accounts Payable Vendor Checks, Direct Deposit and/or Petty Cash Accounts Payable vendor checks can be used to pay for registration, lodging and airfare to vendors that do not accept credit cards. Direct deposit into the employee's designated bank account shall be used to pay all final reimbursements. K. Documentation and Accountability Receipts are required for all travel expenses paid except for per diem meal allowances. Documentation is required to substantiate telephone calls and mileage. All required receipts and documentation must be submitted with the final travel documentation. Any expense (excluding meals) not substantiated by the required receipts and documentation will not be reimbursed and will be considered a personal expense of the Traveler. When incurring expenses during a trip, the Traveler is responsible for presenting the County's Florida State Sales Tax Exemption Certificate to the vendors to prevent unnecessary charges for sales tax. Any sales taxes paid as a result of the Traveler's failure to present the County's exemption certificate shall be considered a personal expense of the Traveler and will not be reimbursed by the County. The tax exempt form is available for printing on the County website. 0 L. Exceptions These general policies are not expected to address every issue, exception or contingency that may arise in the course of County travel. Accordingly, the basic standard that should always prevail in dealing with exceptions is the exercise of good judgment in the use and stewardship of the County's resources. M. Additional Information 1. Unusual circumstances may be approved by the County Administrator or designee. 2. Non -employees are prohibited from driving any County vehicle and or vehicles rented/expensed in the County's name. 3. In lieu of meal reimbursement and County paid hotel accommodation, traveler may elect to receive per diem at $80.00 per day. 4. With prior approval by the County Administrator, flights may be used for travel in an effort to better utilize value of work and travel time that would be lost due to extended road trips in excess of 4 hours each way.