HomeMy WebLinkAbout07 - Approval of Revised City Council Travel Policy F-8Q �EwPpRT
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z NEWPORT BEACH
<,FORN'P City Council Staff Report
May 25, 2021
Agenda Item No. 7
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: Scott Catlett, Finance Director/Treasurer - 949-644-3123,
scatlett@newportbeachca.gov
PREPARED BY: Steve Montano, Deputy Finance Director
smontano@newportbeachca.gov
PHONE: 949-644-3240
TITLE: Resolution No. 2021-42: Approval of Revised City Council Travel
Policy F-8
ABSTRACT:
City Council Policy F-8 governs travel while on City of Newport Beach (City) business.
The minor change proposed to the policy will clarify that reimbursement rules set forth in
California Government Code Section 53232 apply to appointed officials and members of
special boards, commissions, and committees in addition to the City Council. This
Government Code section specifies that requests for expense reimbursement must be
accompanied by a receipt documenting each expense.
RECOMMENDATION:
a) Determine this action is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)
pursuant to Sections 15060(c)(2) and 15060(c)(3) of the CEQA Guidelines because
this action will not result in a physical change to the environment, directly or indirectly;
and
b) Adopt Resolution No. 2021-44, A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Newport
Beach, California, Adopting Revised City Council Policy F-8.
DISCUSSION:
The purpose of City Council Policy F-8 is to establish guidelines for reimbursement of
expenses incurred during official City travel by City Council members, appointed officials,
members of special boards, commissions, and committees, and City employees when
traveling on official City business. California Government Code Section 53232 provides
restrictions on expense reimbursements paid to members of legislative bodies. Members
of a legislative body may only be reimbursed for actual and necessary expenses incurred
in the performance of official duties, and their requests for expense reimbursement must
be accompanied by a receipt documenting each expense. The minor change proposed
to the policy will clarify that in addition to the City Council, appointed officials and members
of special boards, commissions, and committees are also subject to the aforementioned
requirements set forth in California Government Code Section 53232.
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Resolution No. 2021-42: Approval of Revised City Council Travel Policy F-8
May 25, 2021
Page 2
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no fiscal impact related to this item.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW:
Staff recommends the City Council find this action is not subject to the California
Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Sections 15060(c)(2) (the activity will not
result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment)
and 15060(c)(3) (the activity is not a project as defined in Section 15378) of the CEQA
Guidelines, California Code of Regulations, Title 14, Chapter 3, because it has no
potential for resulting in physical change to the environment, directly or indirectly.
NOTICING:
The agenda item has been noticed according to the Brown Act (72 hours in advance of
the meeting at which the City Council considers the item).
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment A — Resolution No. 2021-44, including City Council Policy F-8 (Exhibit 1)
Attachment B —Council Policy F-8 (redlined)
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ATTACHMENT A
Resolution No. 2021-44, including City Council Policy F-8 (Exhibit 1)
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RESOLUTION NO. 2021-44
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
NEWPORT BEACH, CALIFORNIA, ADOPTING REVISED
CITY COUNCIL POLICY F-8
WHEREAS, the purpose of this policy is to establish guidelines for official City
travel for reimbursement of expenses incurred by City Council members, appointed
officials, members of special boards, commissions, committees, and employees while
traveling on official City business,
WHEREAS, California Government Code Section 53232 et seq. provides
restrictions on expense reimbursements paid to members of legislative bodies;
WHEREAS, members of the City Council, appointed officials, members of special
boards, commissions and committees may only be reimbursed for actual and necessary
expenses incurred in the performance of official duties and their travel claims must be
accompanied by the receipts documenting each expense; and
WHEREAS, the City Manager has reviewed the recommended revisions to Policy
F-8 to be in accordance with the above restrictions and recommends the City Council
adopt the revised City Council policy to promote efficiencies, and ensure smooth
administrative operations.
NOW, THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of Newport Beach hereby
resolves as follows:
Section 1: The City Council hereby approves and adopts City Council Policy F-
8, which is attached hereto as Exhibit 1 and incorporated herein by this reference.
Section 2: All prior versions of City Council Policies F-8 are hereby repealed.
Section 3: The recitals provided in this resolution are true and correct and are
incorporated into the operative part of this resolution.
Section 4: If any section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase of this
resolution is, for any reason, held to be invalid or unconstitutional, such decision shall not
affect the validity or constitutionality of the remaining portions of this resolution. The City
Council hereby declares that it would have passed this resolution, and each section,
subsection, sentence, clause or phrase hereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or
more sections, subsections, sentences, clauses or phrases be declared invalid or
unconstitutional.
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Resolution No. 2021 -
Page 2 of 2
Section 5: The City Council finds the adoption of this resolution is not subject to
the California Environmental Quality Act ("CEQA") pursuant to Sections 15060(c)(2) (the
activity will not result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the
environment) and 15060(c)(3) (the activity is not a project as defined in Section 15378)
of the CEQA Guidelines, California Code of Regulations, Title 14, Division 6, Chapter 3,
because it has no potential for resulting in physical change to the environment, directly or
indirectly.
Section 6: This resolution shall take effect immediately upon its adoption by the
City Council, and the City Clerk shall certify the vote adopting the resolution.
ADOPTED this 25th day of May, 2021.
Brad Avery
Mayor
ATTEST:
Leilani I. Brown
City Clerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
AarA C. Harp
City Attorney
Attachment: Exhibit 1 — City Council Policy F-8
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CITY TRAVEL POLICY STATEMENT
IIapi0011.0) �
To set forth the policy for official City travel for reimbursement of expenses incurred by
City Council members, appointed officials, members of special boards, commissions,
committees, and employees while traveling overnight on official City business. This
policy will not apply for commuter (local) training seminars and local City business
expenses, nor is it intended to supersede Police Officer Standard Training reimbursable
travel policies established by the State of California or the Newport Beach Police
Department. The governing rule for all City travel expenses will be availability,
economy, convenience, and propriety.
TRAVEL POLICY
A. The City will provide reimbursement for expenses directly related to attendance
at approved conferences, seminars, meetings, and other official functions/
purposes.
B. Official travel is planned, approved, and budgeted at the Department level.
C. All official travel must be approved prior to the time of the travel by the Finance
Director.
D. The City Manager will adopt and enforce administrative procedures that assure
that all City authorized travel is:
1. Paid directly by the City or reimbursed to the traveler based on actual,
itemized expenses or should be covered by per diem payment.
2. The City's per diem rate for Meals and Incidental Expenses (M&IE) will be
equal to the U.S. General Services Administration's (GSA) M&IE rates.
(www.GSA.gov).
PROCEDURE
A. Each Department Director will include all planned trips in the Department's
annual budget requests. The Travel Authorization Form will be used as a
planning/ cost estimation guide. For unbudgeted, unplanned travel, the same
form will be prepared at the time travel is requested.
1
7-6
B. All requests for travel advances will include the original Travel Authorization
Form signed by the Department Director.
C. The Travel Expense Claim Form will be used to file the final travel claim with the
Finance Director. A copy of the Travel Authorization Form must be attached.
SPECIAL REIMBURSEMENT RULES RELATED TO LEGISLATIVE BODIES
INCLUDING CITY COUNCIL, APPOINTED OFFICIALS, MEMBERS OF SPECIAL
BOARDS, COMMISSIONS AND COMMITTEES
The California Government Code Section 53232 et seq. provides restrictions on expense
reimbursements paid to members of legislative bodies, which include members of the
City Council, appointed officials and members of special boards, commissions and
committees created by charter, ordinance, resolution, or formal action of the City Council.
Members of a legislative body may only be reimbursed for actual and necessary expenses
incurred in the performance of official duties and their travel claims must be
accompanied by the receipts documenting each expense.
CONTINUITY OF CITY GOVERNMENT POLICY
With the advent of different modes of rapid transportation, there is the possibility of
accidents injuring or killing several people simultaneously. Since Council Members are
required to attend conferences, conventions and meetings outside City Hall, it is desirous
to require that whenever possible, no more than three members of the City Council use
the same transportation at the same time.
When it comes to the Council's attention that a conference, convention, or meeting in
which transportation is required, Council Members shall make an effort to arrange their
itinerary so that no more than three members of the City Council use the same
transportation. The City Clerk will be utilized to provide alternate travel arrangements
where necessary in order to comply with this policy.
This policy will help ensure that there will be a continuity of City government and that
there is always a majority of Council members capable of fulfilling the responsibilities
placed upon them by the City.
In addition, the City Manager, Department Directors and other key personnel should use
the same guidelines in traveling separately on official business whenever practicable.
2
7-7
Adopted - June 8,1992
Amended - January 24,1994
Amended - February 26,1996
Amended - April 23, 2002
Amended - October 10, 2006
Amended - August 11, 2009
Amended - September 27, 2011
Amended - February 12, 2019
Amended - May 25, 2021
Formerly F-25
3
UK
ATTACHMENT B
CITY TRAVEL POLICY STATEMENT
To set forth the policy for official City travel for reimbursement of expenses incurred by
City Council members, appointed officials, members of special boards, commissions,
committees, and employees while traveling overnight on official City business. This
policy will not apply for commuter (local) training seminars and local City business
expenses, nor is it intended to supersede Police Officer Standard Training reimbursable
travel policies established by the State of California or the Newport Beach Police
Department. The governing rule for all City travel expenses will be availability,
economy, convenience, and propriety.
TRAVEL POLICY
A. The City will provide reimbursement for expenses directly related to attendance
at approved conferences, seminars, meetings, and other official functions/
purposes.
B. Official travel is planned, approved, and budgeted at the Department level.
C. All official travel must be approved prior to the time of the travel by the Finance
Director.
D. The City Manager will adopt and enforce administrative procedures that assure
that all City authorized travel is:
1. Paid directly by the City or reimbursed to the traveler based on actual,
itemized expenses or should be covered by per diem payment.
2. The City's per diem rate for Meals and Incidental Expenses (M&IE) will be
equal to the U.S. General Services Administrations (GSA) M&IE rates.
(www.GSA.gov).
IraW0141abillNa
A. Each Department Director will include all planned trips in the Department's
annual budget requests. The Travel Authorization Form will be used as a
planning/cost estimation guide. For unbudgeted, unplanned travel, the same
form will be prepared at the time travel is requested.
1
7-9
B. All requests for travel advances will include the original Travel Authorization
Form signed by the Department Director.
C. The Travel Expense Claim Form will be used to file the final travel claim with the
Finance Director. A copy of the Travel Authorization Form must be attached.
SPECIAL REIMBURSEMENT RULES RELATED TO LEGISLATIVE BODIES
INCLUDING CITY COUNCIL, APPOINTED OFFICIALS, MEMBERS OF SPECIAL
BOARDS, COMMISSIONS AND COMMITTEES
The California Government Code Section 53232 et seq. provides restrictions on expense
reimbursements paid to members of legislative bodies, which include members of the
City Council, appointed officials and members of special boards, commissions and
committees created by charter, ordinance, resolution, or formal action of the City Council.
Members of a legislative body may only be reimbursed for actual and necessary expenses
incurred in the performance of official duties and their travel claims must be
accompanied by the receipts documenting each expense.
With the advent of different modes of rapid transportation, there is the possibility of
accidents injuring or killing several people simultaneously. Since Council Members are
required to attend conferences, conventions and meetings outside City Hall, it is desirous
to require that whenever possible, no more than three members of the City Council use
the same transportation at the same time.
When it comes to the Council's attention that a conference, convention, or meeting in
which transportation is required, Council Members shall make an effort to arrange their
itinerary so that no more than three members of the City Council use the same
transportation. The City Clerk will be utilized to provide alternate travel arrangements
where necessary in order to comply with this policy.
This policy will help insure that there will be a continuity of City government and that
there is always a majority of Council members capable of fulfilling the responsibilities
placed upon them by the City.
In addition, the City Manager, Department Directors and other key personnel should use
the same guidelines in traveling separately on official business whenever practicable.
2
7-10
Adopted - June 8,1992
Amended - January 24,1994
Amended - February 26,1996
Amended - April 23, 2002
Amended - October 10, 2006
Amended - August 11, 2009
Amended - September 27, 2011
Amended - February 12, 2019
Amended - May 25, 2021
Formerly F-25
3
7-11