Travel

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Travel

Celebrate Kennedy

CITY OF KENNEDY, MN

ELECTED OFFICIAL

OUT-OF-STATE TRAVEL POLICY

Purpose: The City of Kennedy recognizes that its Elected Official may at times receive value from traveling out of the state for workshops, conferences, events and other assignments. This policy sets forth the conditions under which out-of-state travel will be reimbursed by the City.

General Guidelines:

The event, workshop, conference or assignment must be approved in advance by the City Council at an open meeting and must include an estimate of the cost of the travel. In evaluating the out-of-state travel request, the Council will consider the following:

· Whether the Elected Official will be receiving training on issues relevant to the City or to his or her role as the Mayor or as a Council Member;

· Whether the Elected Official will be meeting and networking with other Elected Officials from around the country to exchange ideas on topics of relevance to the City or on the official roles of local Elected Officials.

· Whether the Elected Official will be viewing a City facility or function that is similar in nature to one that is currently operating at, or under consideration by the City where the purpose for the trip is to study the facility or function to bring back ideas for the consideration of the full Council.

· Whether the Elected Official has been specifically assigned by the Council to visit another City for the purpose of establishing a goodwill relationship such as a "sister-City" relationship.

· Whether the Elected Official has been specifically assigned by the Council to testify on behalf of the City at the United States Congress or to otherwise meet with federal officials on behalf of the City.

· Whether the City has sufficient funding available in the budget to pay the cost of the trip.

No reimbursements will be made for attendance at events sponsored by or affiliated with political parties.

The City may make payments in advance for airfare, lodging and registration if specifically approved by the Council. Otherwise all payments will be made as reimbursements to the Elected Official.

The City will reimburse for transportation, lodging, meals, registration, and incidental costs using the same procedures, limitations and guidelines outlined in the City’s Personnel Policy for City employees.

Mileage will be reimbursed at the IRS rate. If two or more Council Members travel together by car, only the driver will receive reimbursement. The City will reimburse for the cost of renting an automobile if necessary to conduct City business.

Lodging and meal costs are limited to those, which are reasonable and necessary. The Elected Official must use the most cost-efficient mode of travel available taking into consideration reasonable time constraints. Airfare will be reimbursed at the coach rate.

Receipts are required for lodging, airfare, and meals and should accompany an expense report form. It is not necessary to have receipts for cabs and tips. The expense report form must be submitted to the City Clerk/Treasurer for payment.

The City will not reimburse for alcoholic beverages, personal telephone calls, costs associated with the attendance of a family member, rental of luxury vehicles, meal expenses included in the cost of registration, or recreational expenses such as golf or tennis.

Limitations may be imposed on paying for expenses for a Council Member who has announced his/her intention to resign, not to seek reelection, or who has been defeated in an election.

The Council may request an oral or written report from the Elected Official on the results of the trip.

The Elected Official must turn over materials received to the City.

All frequent flyer miles accrued must be turned over to the City.

The City Council may make exceptions to the policy depending upon circumstances unique to the trip and/or Elected Official.

Minnesota Statute Sec. 471.661 adopted this year requires that by 1-1-06 each statutory or home rule charter City, county school district, regional agency etc must develop a travel policy for Elected Officials. There is no exception for small cities. This Policy has been amended from a sample policy provided by the LMC.

Comments or questions on this site can be e-mailed to clerk@ruralaccess.net. We want to hear from you!!

This page was last updated on 11/22/20.