COWLEY COUNTY, KANSAS Meals and Travel Policy Effective August 1, 2014

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1 POLICY The County will reimburse all employees for reasonable and necessary travel and subsistence expenses actually incurred on behalf of the County with the approval of the appointing authority. The purchase of food and/or meals should be in alignment with federal guidelines. Employees are expected to exercise the same care in incurring expenses as a prudent person would exercise if traveling on personal business. We are all to be good stewards of the taxpayer s money and so only travel which will benefit the County and the employee s ability to perform their job should be approved. PROCEDURE I. Food and/or meal purchases The Internal Revenue Service distinguishes between taxable and non-taxable meals. Food the County will purchase, or reimburse and is non-taxable: Meals directly related to business meetings. When the employee is asked to represent the county at meetings of exempt organizations, chamber of commerce, trade or professional associations and the meal is related and necessary to the meeting. Meals related to the extradition of prisoners to or from the Cowley County Jail. Meals provided to employees to occasionally enable them to work overtime or work through an unusually busy time. This does not include routinely occurring overtime. Meals consumed by the employee on a county related trip that requires an overnight stay, see more in the Overnight Travel Section/per diem. Food or beverage that does not comprise a complete meal (e.g. light refreshments at an inter-agency meeting involving non-county staff, meetings where the public is expected to attend). Food the County will purchase, or reimburse and is taxable: Meals purchased immediately before or after training or professional association meeting in another city, but not requiring an overnight stay may be paid for by the county, if approved by the Appointing Authority. However, this meal is a taxable benefit and will be accounted for by payroll. Items the County will not pay for: 1 P age

2 Alcohol. Food and/or meals for non-county employees unless there is an appropriate work related reason to do so (e.g. food for witnesses; invited speakers; jurors; etc.). Employees going to lunch. Holiday, birthday, or seasonal meals. In all above situations except Overnight Travel, employees may use the Purchasing Card, or submit receipts for reimbursement. (Overnight travel will use a per diem, not Purchasing Card.) The registration fee for some business meetings in which the employee is required to represent the County in an official capacity includes the cost of the meal. In these situations, the county will pay the full amount of the fee. II. Overnight travel Per Diem is a Latin term meaning per day. This is an allowance allowed by the IRS to reimburse employees for meal expenses related to overnight travel without being a taxable benefit and without requiring receipts. Should the employee request an amount higher than the IRS allows, it must be approved by the appointing authority and we will need a receipt. We will also be required to add the difference between the actual cost of the meal(s) and the per diem allowance to your W-2 as it is considered income under IRS regulations. A per diem allowance will be paid for meals related to a business trip requiring overnight travel. Lodging and transportation expenses should be charged to the Purchasing Card. Before any employee shall travel for overnight stay they must fill out the approved Request for Travel form two weeks prior to leaving for the trip. All overnight travel and per diem requests must be approved by the appointing authority before the trip occurs. If the employee wishes to receive a cash advance of the per diem, they must fill out that section of the form. Employees can be reimbursed after the trip if they wish to do so, so long as they have prior approval from their appointing authority before leaving for the trip. No manual checks shall be processed for travel purposes. The following information should accompany the Request for Travel form: A copy of seminar outline/fees/and dates; Information on hotel accommodations to be utilized; and Computation of the most economical mode of travel selected by employee. 2 P age

3 DO NOT USE A PURCHASING CARD FOR MEALS IF YOU WERE GIVEN A PER DIEM ALLOWANCE! The employee shall print off and attach the IRS allowed per diem Meals and Incidental Expenses for the location of their destination ( Partial travel days either to your destination, or traveling home from your destination will follow the below prorated per diem rates: Travel that begins before 7:00 AM shall be given 100% of the allowable per diem for that day. Travel that begins after 7:00 AM but before 11:00 Am shall be given 75% of the allowable per diem for that day. Travel that begins after 11:00 AM but before 6:00 PM shall be given 50% of the allowable per diem for that day. If the event includes a meal the per diem will be reduced by the following percentages per meal paid for by the conference: breakfast will be 20%; lunch will be 30%; and dinner will be 50% of the total. If the trip is cancelled, or cut short it is the employee s duty to reimburse the County any per diem they were originally given that was changed by the cancellation or change of travel schedule. Failure to do so may result in disciplinary action up to and including termination. An employee should not pay for meals of others during a trip, unless it is approved by the appointing authority. The business purpose of the meal and names of guests must be stated on the travel expense report as well as on the back side of the receipt. III. Mode of Travel The least expensive mode of travel should be utilized both in terms of transportation and time. If an employee chooses to travel in a more expensive mode, the County will only reimburse them the amount of the least expensive mode. Any employee who manipulates this process for their own personal gain shall be disciplined up to and including termination per the personnel rules. Travel may be accomplished by plane, train, bus, private or County-owned vehicle, rental car or taxi, whichever mode serves the requirements of the County most economically and advantageously. County-owned vehicles may only be taken out of the state with the prior approval of the department head. An employee may use his/her privately-owned vehicle when other methods of travel are less economical. The following rules apply to the use of privately-owned vehicles: 3 P age

4 1. Mileage will be reimbursed at the most recent IRS published mileage rate. Employees must document business miles using a travel log to determine the total mileage for the trip less the normal commute to and from work. If the employee is planning to leave from their home rather than their normal work site, the County will reimburse them for the actual miles traveled from whichever location is the closest to their destination. The IRS published mileage rate covers all costs of operating the vehicle including gasoline, oil, insurance and repairs. Receipts for tolls and parking fees are reimbursed separately and not included in the IRS published mileage rate. 2. If a County-owned vehicle is being used, gasoline will be reimbursed to the employee ONLY when original receipts are attached. 3. Employee should use the Purchasing Card or Gasoline Card if they are available. 4. When more than one employee travels in the same vehicle, only the owner of the personal vehicle (if used) shall be allowed mileage. The use of a rental car will be authorized only in those situations where less expensive means of transportation are either unavailable or not feasible. Employee may use commercial airline or rented aircraft. The following rules apply to the use of aircraft: 1. When travel by air is authorized, reservations with commercial airlines shall be made at the coach or tourist rate unless these accommodations are not available. 2. When it is deemed financially beneficial to the County (for example: Saturday night stayover required for cheaper airline fare), an employee may be authorized to fly out a day early and/or return a day late. The savings on the airfare must be more than the cost of one or two day s hotel and one to two day s meals depending on the departure and arrival times. 3. The employee will be compensated at the mileage rate for travel to and from the airport terminal in accordance with the rules in this section. 4. Fees for parking at the airport are reimbursable when using the most economical parking lot to the County as is the cost of transportation services at the destination. IV. Lodging Each employee shall be allowed a single room while traveling and the original hotel receipt should indicate a single rate. If spouse or family or non-county employee accompanies the employee, he/she will pay the difference between single and double rates. If the employee uses this option, they should enclose documentation detailing what a single room would have cost during their trip for reimbursement purposes. 4 P age

5 When making reservations, the government or corporate rate should be requested. Prior arrangements should be made, when possible, with the hotel to obtain a government sales tax exemption. A copy of the County s sales tax exemption letter and proper identification should be presented. The letter may be photocopied. The traveler will be reimbursed for the actual cost of lodging. Original hotel receipts are required for all lodging expenses. V. Miscellaneous Expenses Reimbursable travel expenses are limited to those expenses authorized and essential to the transaction of official County business as approved by the appointing authority. Original receipts and an explanation of the expense must accompany the expense report to be approved by the appointing authority. 1. Expenses incurred for the sole benefit of the employee such as travel loan, finance charges, personal credit card fees or dues, valet service, alcoholic beverages, laundry, radio, television or movie charges, travelers checks, or other like charges will not be allowed as reimbursable travel expenses. 2. Telephone and facsimile expenses will be allowed only when necessary for the transaction of official County business. An employee will be reimbursed for reasonable personal telephone calls upon the approval of the appointing authority. 3. Tips will be allowed for all luggage transfers and taxi transportation. 4. Toll charges for bridge and turnpike use and parking charges will be reimbursed. Original receipts are requested when possible. 5. Parking fines, traffic tickets, etc., will not be reimbursed. 5 P age