CC - 2005-47 - Adopting and Expense and Use of Public Resource Policy0•
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RESOLUTION NO. 2005-47
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF
THE CITY OF ROSEMEAD, CALIFORNIA,
ADOPTING AN EXPENSE AND USE OF
PUBLIC RESOURCES POLICY
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ROSEMEAD HEREBY FINDS,
DETERMINES AND RESOLVES AS FOLLOWS:
WHEREAS, the State of California has enacted AB 1234 requiring local agencies to enact
expense reimbursement policies consistent therewith; and
WHEREAS, the City of Rosemead takes its stewardship over the use of its limited public
resources seriously; and
WHEREAS, public resources should only be used when there is a substantial benefit to the
City; and
WHEREAS, such benefits include:
The opportunity to discuss the community's concerns with state and federal officials;
2. Participating in regional, state and national organizations whose activities affect the
City;
3. Attending educational seminars designed to improve officials' skill and information
levels; and
Promoting public service and morale by recognizing such service.
WHEREAS, 1) legislative and other regional, state and federal agency business is
frequently conducted over meals; 2) sharing a meal with regional, state and federal officials is
frequently the best opportunity for a more extensive, focused and uninterrupted communication
about the City's policy concerns; and 3) each meal expenditure must comply with the limits and
reporting requirements of local, state and federal law.
WHEREAS, this policy provides guidance to elected and appointed officials on the use and
expenditure of City resources, as well as the standards against which those expenditures will be
measured; and
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WHEREAS, this policy supplements the definition of actual and necessary expenses for
purposes of state laws relating to permissible uses of public resources, and supplements the
definition of necessary and reasonable expenses for purposes of federal and state income tax laws;
and
WHEREAS, this policy also applies to any charges made to a city credit card, cash
advances or other lines of credit.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT:
SECTION 1. Any previous resolution that may conflict with the policies adopted in the
Policy is hereby repealed. This Resolution is not intended to impair or effect any existing contracts
with employees or employee organizations and does not apply to employees covered by such
agreements.
SECTION 3. The attached Expense and Use of Public Resources Policy is hereby adopted,
effective at 12:01 a.m. on January 1, 2006.
SECTION 6. CERTIFICATION
The City Clerk shall certify to the adoption of this Resolution.
PASSED, APPROVED and ADOPTED this 27th day of December, 2005. -
y Imperial
ayor
ATTES
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Nina.Castruita
City Clerk .
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STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES ) SS.
CITY OF ROSEMEAD )
I, Nina Castruita, City Clerk of the City of Rosemead, do hereby certify that the
foregoing Resolution No. 2005-47 being:
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ROSEMEAD,
CALIFORNIA, ADOPTING AN EXPENSE AND USE OF PUBLIC
RESOURCES POLICY
was duly and regularly approved and adopted by the Rosemead City Council on
the 27th of December 2005, by the following vote to wit:
YES: CLARK, NUNEZ, TRAN
NO: IMPERIAL, TAYLOR
ABSENT: NONE
ABSTAIN: NONE
Nina Castruita
City Clerk
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CITY OF ROSEMEAD
Expense and Use of Public Resources Policy
AUTHORIZED EXPENSES
City funds, equipment, supplies (including letterhead), titles, and staff time must only be
used for authorized City business. Expenses incurred in connection with the following types of
activities generally constitute authorized expenses, as long as the other requirements of this policy
are met:
I . Communicating with representatives of regional, state and national government on
City adopted policy positions;
2. Attending educational seminars designed to improve officials' skill and information
levels;
3. A conference or organized educational activity conducted in compliance with
subdivision (c) of Section 54952.2, including, but not limited to, ethics training required by Article
2.4 (commencing with Section 53234).
4. Participating in regional, state and national organizations whose activities affect the
City;
5. Recognizing service to the City (for example, thanking a longtime employee with a
retirement gift or celebration of nominal value and cost);
6. Attending City events;
7. Implementing a City-approved strategy for attracting or retaining businesses to the
City, which will typically involve at least one staff member; and
All other expenditures require prior approval by the City Council.
The following expenses also require prior Council's approval:
International and out-of-state travel except to an adjacent state;
2. Expenses which exceed the annual limits established for each office holder; and
3. Expenses exceeding two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500.00) per trip.
Examples of personal expenses that the City will not reimburse include, but are not limited
to:
The personal portion of any trip;
2. Political or charitable contributions or events;
3. Family expenses, including partner's expenses when accompanying official on City-
related business, as well as children- or pet-related expenses;
4. Entertainment expenses, including theater, movies (either in-room or at the theater),
sporting events (including gym, massage and/or golf related expenses), or other cultural events;
5. Non-mileage personal automobile expenses, including repairs, traffic citations,
insurance or gasoline; and
6. Personal losses incurred while on City business. Any questions regarding the
propriety of a particular type of expense should be resolved by the approving authority before the
expense is incurred.
COST CONTROL
To conserve City resources and keep expenses within community standards for public officials,
expenditures should adhere to the following guidelines. In the event that expenses are incurred
which exceed these guidelines, the cost borne or reimbursed by the City will be limited to the costs
that fall within the guidelines:
TRANSPORTATION
The most economical mode and class of transportation reasonably consistent with
scheduling needs and cargo space requirements must be used, using the most direct and time-
efficient route. Charges for rental vehicles may be reimbursed under this provision if more than one
City official is attending an out of town conference, and it is determined that sharing a rental vehicle
is more economical than utilizing other forms of transportation. In making such determination, the
cost of the rental vehicle, parking and gasoline shall be compared to the combined cost of such
other forms of transportation.
Automobile. Automobile mileage is reimbursable at Internal Revenue Service rates
presently in effect (see www.irs.gov). For 2006, the rate is 44.5 cents per mile. These rates are
designed to compensate the driver for gasoline, insurance, maintenance, and other expenses
associated with operating the vehicle. This amount does not include bridge and road tolls, which
are also reimbursable. The IRS rates shall not be paid for rental vehicles; only receipted fuel
expenses will be reimbursed. No more than $250.00 will be reimbursed for local automobile travel
by one person for any month.
Airfare. Airfares that are equal to or less than those available through the Enhanced Local
Government Airfare Program offered through the League of California Cities
(www.eacities.org/travel), the California State Association of Counties (www.csac.counties.org/
default.asp?id=635) and the State of California are presumed to be the most economical and
reasonable for purposes of reimbursement under this policy.
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Car Rental. Rental rates that are equal to or less than those available through the State of
California's website (http://www.catravelsmart.com/default.htm) shall be considered the most
economical and reasonable for purposes of reimbursement under this policy.
Taxis/Shuttles. Taxis or shuttles fares may be reimbursed, including a 15 percent gratuity
per fare, when the cost of such fares is equal to or less than the cost of car rentals, gasoline and
parking combined, or when such transportation is necessary for time-efficiency.
LODGING
Lodging expenses will be reimbursed or paid for when travel on official City business reasonably
requires an overnight stay. If such lodging is in connection with a conference, lodging expenses
should not exceed the group rate published by the conference sponsor for the meeting in question.
If group rates are unavailable, reimbursement shall not exceed available government rates. If
government rates are not available to City officials, reimbursement shall not exceed the Internal
Revenue Service per diem limits. See www.irs.gov or www.l)olicyworksgov/perdiem
MEALS
Meal and incidental expenses shall not exceed the following amounts:
Breakfast $12
unch 18
inner $35
Such amounts shall be annually adjusted to reflect changes in the cost of living in accordance with
statistics published by the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer
Price Index, all urban consumers for the Los Angeles-Anaheim-Riverside Metropolitan Area. (The
annual adjustment shall be made based on said area whether such travel is within that area or not.)
The City will not pay for alcohol/personal bar expenses.
ENROLLMENT FEES
Enrollment fees charged by providers of conferences, organized educational activities and other
National, State or Regional organizations whose activities affect the City will be reimbursed at the
lowest rates available to the official (i.e., member rate if the City or Official is a member).
TELEPHONE/FAX/INTERNET/CELLULAR
Officials will be reimbursed for actual telephone and fax expenses incurred on City business.
Telephone bills should identify which calls were made on City business. For cellular calls when the
official has a particular number of minutes included in the official's plan, the official can identify
the percentage of calls made on public business. Officials will be reimbursed for Internet access
connection and/or usage fees away from home, not to exceed $15.00 per day if Internet access is
necessary for City-related business.
AIRPORT PARKING
Long-term parking should be used for travel exceeding 24-hours.
OTHER
Baggage handling fees of up to $1 per bag and gratuities of up to 15 percent will be reimbursed.
Expenses for which City officials receive reimbursement from another agency are not reimbursable.
CASH ADVANCE POLICY
From time to time, it may be necessary for an official to request a cash advance to cover anticipated
expenses while traveling or doing business on the City's behalf. Such request for an advance should
be submitted to the Chief Financial Officer seven (7) days prior to the need for the advance with the
following information:
The purpose of the expenditure(s); and
The benefits of such expenditure to the residents of the City; and
The anticipated amount of the expenditure(s) (for example, hotel rates, meal costs. and
transportation expenses); and
The dates of the expenditure(s).
Any unused advance must be returned to the City treasury within ten business days of the official's
return, along with an expense report and receipts documenting how the advance was used in
compliance with this expense policy.
In the event the Chief Financial Officer is uncertain as to whether a request complies with this
policy, such individual must seek resolution from the City Council.
CREDIT CARD USE POLICY
The City does not issue credit cards to individual office holders but does have an agency credit card
for selected City expenses. City office holders and staff as authorized by the Chief Administrative
Officer may use the City's credit card for such purposes as airline tickets and hotel reservations by
following the same procedures for cash advances. Receipts documenting expenses incurred on the
City credit card and compliance with this policy must be submitted within five business days of use.
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Citv credit cards may not be used for personal expenses, even if the official subsequently
reimburses the City.
EXPENSE REPORT CONTENT AND SUBMISSION DEADLINE
All cash advance expenditures, credit card expenses and expense reimbursement requests must be
submitted on an expense report form provided by the City. This form shall include the following
advisory:
All expenses reported on this form must comply with the City's policies relating to
expenses and use of public resources. The information submitted on this form is a
public record. Penalties for misusing public resources and violating the City's
policies include loss of reimbursement privileges, restitution, civil and criminal
penalties as well as additional income tax liability.
Expense reports must document that the expense in question met the requirements of the policy.
For example, if the meeting is with a legislator, the City official should explain whose meals were
purchased, what issues were discussed and how those relate to the City's adopted legislative
positions and priorities.
Officials must submit their expense reports within 30 days of an expense being incurred,
accompanied by receipts documenting each expense. Restaurant receipts, in addition to any credit
card receipts, are part of the necessary documentation.
Inability to provide such documentation in a timely fashion may result in the expense being borne
by the official.
AUDITS OF EXPENSE REPORTS
All expenses are subject to verification that they comply with this policy.
REPORTS TO GOVERNING BOARD
At the following City Council meeting, each official shall briefly report on meetings attended at
City expense. If multiple officials attended, a joint report may be made.
COMPLIANCE WITH LAWS
City officials should keep in mind that some expenditures may be subject to reporting under the
Political Reform Act and other laws. All agency expenditures are public records subject to
disclosure under the Public Records Act.
VIOLATION OF THIS POLICY
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Use of public resources or falsifying expense reports in violation of this policy may result in any or
all of the following: 1) loss of reimbursement privileges, 2) a demand for restitution to the City, 3)
the agency's reporting the expenses as income to the elected official to state and federal tax
authorities, 4) civil penalties of up to $1,000 per day and three times the value of the resources used,
and 5) prosecution for misuse of public resources.