THE SCHOOL BOARD MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA

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2 THE SCHOOL BOARD MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA Mr. Agustin J. Barrera, Chair Dr. Martin Karp, Vice Chair Mr. Renier Diaz de la Portilla Ms. Evelyn Langlieb Greer Ms. Perla Tabares Hantman Dr. Robert B. Ingram Ms. Ana Rivas Logan Dr. Marta Pérez Dr. Solomon C. Stinson Student Advisor Adam Wexelbaum Superintendent of Schools Rudolph F. Crew, Ed.D.

3 MIAMI-DADE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS Assigned Vehicles Policies & Procedures The following guide is issued to assist employees in understanding the legal and tax consequences, as well as the limitations and responsibilities of employees that are assigned Miami-Dade County Public Schools vehicles. This manual can be found online at THIS MANUAL SHOULD BE KEPT IN THE VEHICLE S GLOVE COMPARTMENT AT ALL TIMES

4 MIAMI-DADE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS DISTRICT POLICIES & PROCEDURES I. Statutes... 1 II. Vehicle Acquisition... 1 III. Vehicle Assignment, Temporary Vehicles & Vehicle Transfers... 1 IV. Motor Pools... 2 V. Insurance & Liability... 2 VI. Authorized Use of Miami-Dade County Public Schools Vehicles... 3 VII. Tolls, Parking Fees & Traffic Violations... 4 VIII. Fuel... 4 IX. Fuel Credit Card... 5 X. Vehicle Maintenance... 6 XI. Taxable Income Implication to Employees... 7 XII. Monthly Mileage Reporting Procedures... 7 XIII. Annual Lease Valuation Method of District-Owned Vehicles... 8 XIV. Appendices... 9

5 Policies & Procedures I. Statutes Florida Statutes Section (3), states, Responsibility for the administration and management of the schools and for the supervision of instruction in the district shall be vested in the superintendent as the secretary and executive officer of the district school board, as provided by law. Pursuant to Section B-13 School Board Vehicles, in the Manual of Procedures for Managerial Exempt Personnel (MEP): The Superintendent of Schools is authorized to assign School Board vehicles to selected administrators when necessary for the performance of their duties and in the best interest of the school system. The school system will provide maintenance and gasoline for these vehicles. II. Vehicle Acquisition Vehicles are purchased according to need, age, mileage and general condition as evidenced by individual vehicle maintenance logs. Every effort will be made to maintain the vehicle in optimum working condition during its serviceable life. Purchases of vehicles will be done through the normal budgetary and purchasing processes. Vehicle acquisition, replacement, or transfers must be authorized by the Deputy Superintendent for Business Operations. III. Vehicle Assignment, Temporary Vehicles & Vehicle Transfers The Superintendent may delegate his authority to assign vehicles. Vehicles will be assigned to the Superintendent s cabinet, regional superintendents and selected District staff based on job responsibilities as approved by the Superintendent or his designee. Business Operations will review assigned vehicles on an annual basis. When a vehicle is assigned, each employee will receive a copy of this manual, which contains important contact numbers, such as, designated Transportation Vehicle Maintenance shops, after-hour tow truck companies, and liability insurance information. Additionally, the employee will receive a vehicle registration, insurance cards, and spare keys. This manual should be kept in the vehicle s glove compartment at all times. The Department of Transportation will complete an outgoing property form and a vehicle acceptance form. The vehicle acceptance form acts as a checklist that all documentation and pertinent property has been delivered to the employee at the time of assignment. The employee should review the vehicle acceptance form to ascertain that all the information is correct and sign the form. The mileage recorded on this form will be your beginning mileage. The Department of Transportation is then responsible for forwarding a copy of said form to the Office of the Controller, Vehicle Log Section SBAB, Room #650. Employees who are assigned vehicles are ultimately responsible for notifying the Vehicle Log Section at (305) of their assignment in a timely manner. An employee can only have one vehicle assigned to him/her at a time. At no time should any employee assigned a District-owned vehicle loan their vehicle to anyone, including, but not limited to relatives, friends, or any other school board employees. Page 1

6 Temporary Vehicles If another vehicle is a temporarily assigned ( loaner ), the change must be documented on the monthly mileage log. The log should indicate the beginning and ending odometer readings, as well as, the business miles driven for the temporary assigned vehicle. Vehicle Transfers M-DCPS vehicles are assigned to a specific location or to an individual. Transfers within the same location should be notified to Property Accounting (305) , as well as, to the Vehicle Log Section (305) Vehicle transfers to another work location need to be reported on Outgoing Control Equipment Forms with copies forwarded to Property Accounting (SBAB Room #656) and to the Vehicle Log Section (SBAB Room #650). All Outgoing Control Equipment forms should include the vehicle s mileage at the time of transfer or assignment. In addition, any changes in the assigned vehicles should be documented on the Monthly Automobile Log of each individual prior to submission to the Vehicle Log Section. Every 90 days, the Vehicle Log Section and Property Accounting will compare and update vehicle assignments to ensure that all assigned vehicles are being properly accounted. Misuse of District-owned vehicles by employees may result in confiscation of vehicle and loss of privileges. IV. Motor Pools The SBAB Building Operations has a small motor pool for temporary use by employees who have to travel to different locations. These vehicles are also used as loaners when take-home vehicles are being serviced by the Miami-Dade County Public Schools Department of Transportation. All provisions of the vehicle use policy are applicable during this assignment. Additionally, each Regional Center will be provided with two pool vehicles to be used by Regional Center directors to support the operations and monitoring of the schools. The Maintenance department also has a small pool of vehicles to be used by maintenance administrators who visit work sites as part of their regular duties or attend assigned District meetings. All pool vehicles are to remain at the work location at the close of business on a daily basis. At no time should any employee take pool vehicles home, unless vehicle is a loaner per above. V. Insurance & Liability The Board s liability insurance program and the limited immunity provided to the Board and its employees, pursuant to the provisions of Florida Statutes Section , is limited to injury or loss of property, personal injury, or death caused by the negligent or wrongful act or omission of any employee while acting within the scope of the employee s office or employment function with the Board. As such, the liability of a Board employee resulting from or during the personal use (incidental or otherwise), of a Board-provided vehicle is not covered by the Board s liability insurance program. All Board provided vehicles should have two Miami-Dade County Public Schools Vehicle Information cards kept in the glove compartment, along with other required forms. An example of this card is provided: Page 2

7 MIAMI-DADE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS VEHICLE IDENTIFICATION INFORMATION Employer/ Governmental Agency Miami-Dade County Public Schools The above political subdivision/government agency is self-funded under FSA , FSA , Florida Session Law , and the FSA (2) (a) (2) exemption. In the case of an accident, please contact your work site supervisor and the Office of Risk and Benefits Management immediately. Physical damage coverage is provided only on a catastrophic basis; therefore, any repairs to a Districtowned vehicle resulting from a collision, vandalism, etc. must be handled through Transportation Vehicle Maintenance. However, a School Police Accident Report (SPAR) should be filed with the Division of School Police for any damage to your assigned vehicle. In the event of an accident, or other occurrence whereby proof of insurance is required, this vehicle information card should be provided to the appropriate authorities (i.e. local or state police). It is also important to promptly notify the Office of Risk and Benefits Management in order to establish a claim. Employees should also call the Division of School Police at (305) 995-COPS (2677) and generate a School Police Accident Report (SPAR) incident number. A copy of the traffic accident report provided by the local authority must be provided to Office of Risk and Benefits Management and Division of School Police. Because of the inability to always determine personal use from business use, it is strongly recommended that employees with Board-provided vehicles endorse their individual personal automobile insurance policy by adding liability coverage for non-owned and hired vehicles. Additional information and vehicle identification cards can be provided by calling the Office of Risk and Benefits Management at (305) VI. Authorized Use of Miami-Dade County Public Schools Vehicles Official use of vehicles includes, but is not limited to, travel to and from: 1. Work 2. Related meetings 3. Conferences 4. Workshops 5. School sites 6. M-DCPS non-school work sites 7. Delivery of reports or documents 8. Other school business requiring out-of-county travel that has been approved prior to the date of travel Page 3

8 VII. Tolls, Parking Fees & Traffic Violations District provided toll transponders (Sun Pass) are to be used for official business only. Accordingly, toll transponders are not to be used for unauthorized purposes, to include, but not limited to: Toll usage not within the scope of M-DCPS duties. Toll usage for personal business, or commuting to and from your home. Toll usage for out-of-county travel, unless it directly corresponds to an on-line travel request. Lost or stolen transponders must be reported to the Office Manager of the Department of Transportation at (305) This would facilitate the deactivation of the unit and prevent any further liability to the District on the missing equipment. In addition, transponders can be replaced by paying the applicable fee. Therefore, when requesting a replacement, please make a check payable to Miami-Dade County Public Schools for the applicable amount and send to the attention of the Office Manager of the Department of Transportation, via school mail - Location 9230, or to the Department of Transportation, SW 117 Avenue, Miami, Florida Employees may also pay tolls and parking fees themselves. These fees are generally reimbursed to the employee if paid during the course of conducting official business. The employee must submit original documentation (i.e., receipts) as proof of expenses on the In-County Travel Form forwarded to the Payroll Department, Mail Code SBAB, Room#607, Location 9321 to the attention of the Travel Reimbursement Section. Any questions regarding reimbursements should be directed to the Travel Reimbursement clerk at (305) Traffic or parking violations are not covered by M-DCPS. The employee must pay for such violations, whether or not they were incurred during business related activity. VIII. Fuel Fuel is available 24 hours/7days a week at one of the following Transportation Vehicle Maintenance shops. Employees are strongly urged to fuel at these sites whenever convenient as it results in savings to the District. Garage Telephone Numbers Central East 7011 S.W. 4 th St North N. W. 42 nd Ave South 660 S.W. 3 rd Ave Northeast 5901 N. W. 27 th Ave Southwest S. W. 160 th St Redland S.W. 160 th Ave J. Schee 2755 N. W. 122 nd St *Central West at N. W. 6 th St will be added to the list upon completion of the new terminal. Page 4

9 IX. Fuel Credit Card The District issues a fuel fleet card to those employees that have been assigned a District-owned vehicle and to schools providing a driver s education program. Cards assigned to the Division of Life Skills and Special Projects for use in the driver s education program will be handled as follows: High school principals assume custody of the gas card and designate the driver education teacher who will use the card. The card is to be kept in the school treasurer s office when not in use A log will be kept to track usage of the fuel At times it may be impractical for employees to fuel at the District s fueling sites due to logistical limitations, the fuel credit card is to serve only as a secondary fueling source and employees are highly encouraged to fuel at District-owned fueling sites. In order to obtain a fuel credit card a written request must be sent to the Office of the Controller, Cost and Business Services, Room #656 from the employee who has been issued the vehicle or from the District Supervisor, Division of Life Skills for the driver s education program. The memo should include the requestor s name, title, employee ID#, location and telephone number. All fuel credit cards will be issued in the name of Miami-Dade County Public Schools employee or in the name of the school offering driver s education classes. No blank cards will be issued. Prior to the fuel credit card being issued, verification will be obtained that the applicant has been issued a District-owned vehicle or that the school requesting the card offers driver s education classes. Fuel Credit Cards will be received within seven to ten business days after the request is received and processed. The Office of the Controller, Cost and Business Services receives all cards. The employee will be contacted to pick-up the card and required to sign a receipt to acknowledge that he/she has received the fuel credit card. Fuel Credit Card Replacement/Cancellation Lost or stolen fuel credit cards must be immediately reported to the Office of the Controller, Cost & Business Services at (305) in order to limit the District s liability. Occasionally, fuel credit cards must be replaced or cancelled due to problems with the magnetic strip, lost/theft, or normal wear and tear. In order to receive a replacement fuel credit card, a written request must be sent to the Office of the Controller, Cost and Business Services, Room #656, requesting the card be reissued. The memo should include the requestor s name, title, employee ID#, location, telephone number, account number, and reason for replacement. Fuel Credit Cards will be cancelled as follows: When the District terminates the cardholder. When the cardholder is no longer issued a District-owned vehicle. When a school no longer provides driver s education classes. All cancelled cards are to be cut in half and returned to the Office of the Controller, Cost and Business Services, Room #656 before issuance of a replacement card. The fuel credit card company will be notified immediately to cancel and deactivate the card upon our knowledge of any of the above three events. It is the responsibility of the employee and the District Supervisor, Division of Life Skills if issued a District-owned vehicle to notify the Office of the Controller, Cost and Business Services, Room #656 when possession of the vehicle changes. If an employee separates from service, the immediate Page 5

10 supervisor of the employee must promptly return the card to the Office of the Controller for cancellation and disposal. Monthly Fuel Credit Card Reconciliation The fuel credit card user must retain all original fuel charge receipts or invoices. A copy of the monthly fuel credit card statement will be sent via from the Office of the Controller, Cost and Business Services. Each fuel credit card user must reconcile all charges on the statement with corresponding receipts to ensure accuracy of the payment to the fuel credit card company. Once validated, the credit card user must acknowledge the accuracy of the statement via communication to the Office of the Controller, Cost and Business Services. All discrepancies are to be researched and resolved by the cardholder within 10 days of notification. Each fuel credit card user MUST keep all the above documentation on file for audit purposes at their site/department. X. Vehicle Maintenance All assigned vehicles will undergo a comprehensive inspection by the Miami-Dade County Public Schools Department of Transportation. This inspection will vary depending upon mileage driven. The majority of assigned units are scheduled for inspection every 120-calendar days. This may vary for high mileage vehicles that may travel a higher number of miles between intervals. Employees with assigned vehicles will receive a call from their designated Transportation Vehicle Maintenance Shop to schedule the vehicle s inspection. Whenever possible, depending on availability, a loaner vehicle will be provided. If the assigned vehicle breaks down or requires additional repairs between its regularly scheduled maintenance, employees must call their designated Transportation Vehicle Maintenance shop (see Important Phone Number Listings or the Information Card provided at the time the vehicle was assigned). If the vehicle cannot be moved, a tow truck will be provided. Please provide as much information as possible about the nature of the breakdown on the Driver s Request for Repair Form (DRR-available online). See copy of DRR form in Appendix C. If a vehicle needs to be towed after regular work hours, please direct the tow company to tow the vehicle to your nearest Transportation Vehicle Maintenance shop. Security guards are assigned to all vehicle maintenance shops 24 hours a day, seven days a week and will be able to receive the vehicle. The vehicle should not be left unattended, therefore, please remain with the vehicle until it is towed away. There are two towing companies on bid that employees must use when M-DCPS tow trucks are not available. Due to the fact that these companies change from time to time, please refer to the information provided to you at the time of assignment. If there is a change in towing companies, the updated information will be provided to you via by the Department of Transportation. There is always one person from the Department of Transportation that is on call 24 hours. Therefore, if you need additional assistance, you may contact the Department of Transportation at the telephone numbers listed on page 9 (see Important Phone Number Listings or the Information Card). If the vehicle is not going to be towed until the next day, the employee should take all precautions possible to secure the vehicle. XI. Taxable Income Implication to Employees Page 6

11 When an employer provides a vehicle to an employee that is available for the employee s personal use, that availability is generally considered to be a taxable fringe benefit. Vehicle expenses incurred commuting between an employee s home and the employee s main or regular place of business (including weekends and holidays) are non-deductible personal expenses. An employer is required by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to include the value of personal use of an employer assigned vehicle, in the employee s wages for income and employment tax purpose. When a vehicle is used for both business and personal purposes, (i.e., commuting between home and your assigned post of duty) an allocation between the two types of use is required to be made on the basis of the number of miles driven. The portion allocable to the employee s personal use is taxable. The portion allocable to business use is excludable from the employee s income. Employees will be responsible for taxable income resulting from personal use of the vehicle derived from the following: 1. Mileage between your home and your main or normal place of business and back home (including weekends and holidays). This is considered personal commuting expenses, and will result in taxable income to the employee. 2. Any additional mileage you might incur between two business related stops that would be personal in nature. For example, if you are visiting two different schools and you run a personal errand in between those visits. The additional mileage incurred would be considered taxable. 3. Personal use of a vehicle constitutes all travel that is not for the expressed or implied benefit of Miami-Dade County Public Schools. In cases of personal use, please read the section regarding insurance and liability coverage for further information. XII. Monthly Mileage Reporting Procedures According to the Internal Revenue Tax Code, a taxpayer is required to substantiate an employer-assigned vehicle s business expenses by providing adequate records. Accordingly, a Monthly Automobile Log (FM- 4817) is the official record to be used to report vehicle mileage. This log is available on the intranet and can be filled out on your computer at The following procedures should be observed in recording daily travel usage. These procedures meet the minimum recording requirements of the IRS. On the first and last day of each month, the odometer reading should be recorded in the space provided on the top right corner of the Monthly Automobile Log During the month, only miles driven for School Board official business should be recorded in the log. Each official business entry in the mileage log must be substantiated with a purpose for each trip. Mileage must be rounded to the nearest whole number. At no time should tenths of miles be used. Monthly Automobile logs need to be signed by the immediate supervisor on a monthly basis. The difference between the total miles traveled during the month and the total number of miles traveled on business will constitute personal use miles. This mileage will be used to compute the employee s Page 7

12 taxable fringe benefits from the use of a District-owned vehicle. At no time, should any employee include as business mileage travel to or from their home to an alternate work location, unless there is excess mileage (business miles in excess of the round trip commute between your home and your normal place of business). The following web site should be used to identify the reportable mileage between two points: The Monthly Automobile Log should be remitted each month to the Office of the Controller, Mail Code SBAB, Room #650, to the attention of the Vehicle Log Section, no later than the 15 th of the following month. The monthly automobile log must be typed and signed before being submitted by the deadline date. Any mileage log received that lacks the appropriate information will be returned. In October of each year, a memorandum will be sent via , for the employee to attest to their ending mileage on October 31. A determination will be made as to the amount of additional compensation to be included in the current year W-2 wages. The amount is based on the personal use of the vehicle from November of the previous year through October of the current year. Accordingly, the mileage for November and December of the current year will be reported in the following year s W-2 wages. All uses by an employee assigned a District-owned vehicle can be treated as personal use and reported as compensation if: 1) The employee fails to provide a Monthly Automobile Log (FM-4817) 2) The employee s records are inaccurate 3) The employee reports no business use XIII. Annual Lease Valuation Method of District-Owned Vehicles The amount included in an employee s wages for income and employment tax purposes, due to personal use of a M-DCPS provided vehicle, is determined by the approximate fair market value of the vehicle. Generally, this value is determined by using the lease valuation method. A vehicle s annual lease value is based on the fair market value of the vehicle when it is first available for personal use and is determined under the annual lease value table published by the IRS. Fair market value will be determined using Kelly Blue Book valuation. The IRS table is based on a four-year lease term. The annual lease value taken from the table must be used for each of the three subsequent years if the vehicle continues to be available to the employee. At the beginning of the fifth year (and every four years thereafter) the annual lease value will be recalculated based on the fair market value of the vehicle taking into consideration the vehicle s age and mileage. A recalculation will also be made if a vehicle is transferred to another employee, based on the fair market value as of the year the transfer occurred. The annual lease value table does not include the value of employer-provided fuel. Employer-provided fuel must be included in the employee s gross income, in addition to the annual lease value. At the time of printing, the current rate of 5.5 cents per personal mile is imposed in accordance with IRS guidelines. This amount is subject to change as determined by IRS regulations. XIV. Appendices Page 8

13 For your convenience included are supplemental attachments for your reference: Appendix A: Important Telephone Numbers Appendix B: M-DCPS Monthly Automobile Log This form was designed to record the business (and personal) mileage use of District-owned vehicles, and may be duplicated as often as needed. It may also be obtained via the intranet Appendix C: Driver s Request for Repair Form (DRR) This form should be used to report mechanical problems related to your assigned vehicle. The attached copy of the form is supplied to serve as a point of reference. This form must be printed in triplicate and may be obtained online at If additional information is needed, please contact the Office of the Controller, Vehicle Log Section at (305) Appendix A IMPORTANT TELEPHONE NUMBERS Department of Transportation (305) Department of Transportation (after hours) (786) Page 9

14 (Department of Transportation (Sun Pass) (305) Office of Risk and Benefits Management (305) Gallagher-Bassett Services, Inc.(8:30am-4:30pm) (305) Gallagher-Bassett Services, Inc. (4:30pm-8:30am) Division of School Police (24hours) (305) Vehicle Log Section (305) Cost & Business Services (Fuel Credit Card) (305) TRANSPORTATION VEHICLE MAINTENANCE SHOPS Office Tel. Garage Tel. Central East 7011 S.W. 4 th St. (786) (786) North N. W. 42 nd Ave. (305) (305) South 660 S.W. 3 rd Ave. (305) (305) Northeast 5901 N. W. 27 th Ave. (305) (305) Southwest S. W. 160 th St. (305) (305) Northwest 9900 N. W. So. River Dr. (305) (305) Central West N. W. 6 th St. (305) (305) Redland S.W. 160 th Ave. (305) (305) J. Schee 2755 N. W. 122 nd St. (305) (305) Page 10

15 Appendix B 11

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17 The School Board of Miami-Dade County, Florida, adheres to a policy of nondiscrimination in employment and educational programs/activities and programs/activities receiving Federal financial assistance from the Department of Education, and strives affirmatively to provide equal opportunity for all as required by: Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, or national origin. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended - prohibits discrimination in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, or national origin. Title IX of the Education Amendments of prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender. Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA), as amended - prohibits discrimination on the basis of age with respect to individuals who are at least 40. The Equal Pay Act of 1963, as amended - prohibits sex discrimination in payment of wages to women and men performing substantially equal work in the same establishment. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of prohibits discrimination against the disabled. Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) - prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in employment, public service, public accommodations and telecommunications. The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) - requires covered employers to provide up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave to "eligible" employees for certain family and medical reasons. The Pregnancy Discrimination Act of prohibits discrimination in employment on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. Florida Educational Equity Act (FEEA) - prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, gender, national origin, marital status, or handicap against a student or employee. Florida Civil Rights Act of secures for all individuals within the state freedom from discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, handicap, or marital status. School Board Rules 6Gx13-4A-1.01, 6Gx13-4A-1.32, and 6Gx13-5D prohibit harassment and/or discrimination against a student or employee on the basis of gender, race, color, religion, ethnic or national origin, political beliefs, marital status, age, sexual orientation, social and family background, linguistic preference, pregnancy, or disability. Veterans are provided re-employment rights in accordance with P.L (Federal Law) and Section (Florida Statutes), which stipulate categorical preferences for employment. Revised 5/9/03