A. Purpose.
The Morrisville Public Library (“Library”) will reimburse employee and officer travel, meal, and lodging expenses incurred in connection with pre-approved travel, meal, and lodging expenses incurred on behalf of the Library. Employees and officers are expected to exercise the same care in incurring expenses for official business as a prudent person would in spending personal funds.
B. Definitions.
“Entertainment” includes, but is not limited to, shows, amusements, theaters, circuses, sporting events, or any other place of public or private entertainment or amusement, unless ancillary to the purpose of the program or event.
“Travel” means any expenditure directly incident to official travel by employees and officers of the Library involving reimbursement to travelers or direct payment to private agencies providing transportation or related services.
C. Authorized Types of Official Business.
Travel, meal and lodging expenses will be reimbursed for employees and officers of the Library only for purposes of official business conducted on behalf of the Library. These include but are not limited to off-site or out-of-town meetings related to official business and pre-approved seminars, conferences and other educational events related to the employee’s or officer’s official duties. If you are unsure whether an expense is reimbursable, please contact the Library Manager.
D. Categories of Expenses.
1. Airfare – Travelers are expected to obtain the lowest available airfare that reasonably meets business travel needs. Travelers are encouraged to book flights at least 30 days in advance to avoid premium airfare pricing. Only coach or economy tickets will be paid or reimbursed. The traveler will pay for the difference between higher priced tickets and coach or economy tickets with his or her personal funds.
2. Personal Automobiles –Mileage reimbursement will be based on mileage from the work location office to the off-site location of the official business, not from the employee’s or officer’s residence. When attending a training event or other off-site official business directly from an employee’s or officer’s residence, no reimbursement will be made if the distance is less than the mileage of a normal commute to the workplace. If the distance is higher than the employee’s or officer’s normal commute, reimbursement will be paid based on the differential of the commute less the mileage of a normal commute to the workplace. An employee or officer will be reimbursed at the prevailing IRS mileage rate. The traveler will only be reimbursed up to the price of a coach airfare ticket if they drive to a location for which airfare would have been less expensive.
3. Automobile Rentals – Travelers will be reimbursed for the cost of renting an automobile including gasoline expense only as provided in this section. Travelers using rental cars to conduct official business are required to purchase insurance through the rental agency. Car rental insurance will cover the vehicle during personal use, e.g., using the vehicle after the conference has ended. Compact or mid– size cars are required for two or fewer employees or officers traveling together and a full– size vehicle may be used for three or more travelers. The traveler must refuel the vehicle before returning it to the rental company.
4. Other Transportation – The traveler should utilize hotel shuttle service or other shuttle services, if available. If none are offered, the use of the most economic transportation is encouraged.
5. Hotel/Motel Accommodations – The traveler will be reimbursed for a standard single-room at locations convenient to the business activity. In the event of a change in plans or a cancellation, the traveler must cancel the hotel/motel reservation so as not to incur cancellation charges. Cancellation charges will not be reimbursed by the Library unless approved by a vote of the Library Board of Trustees.
6. Meals – Meal reimbursement is limited to the current U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) regulations in place at the time the expense is occurred.
Prior approval by the Library’s Board of Trustees and submission of receipts are required for per diem allowances. Meals provided by the conference or seminar should be deducted from the per diem allowance. Partial reimbursement may be made for departure and return days based on time. Meals during in-state travel that is not an overnight stay will be reimbursed for actual cost not to exceed the GSA regulations.
7. Vacation in Conjunction with Business Travel – In cases where vacation time is added to a business trip, any cost variance in airfare, car rental, lodging and/or any other expenses must be clearly identified on the Travel, Meal, and Lodging Expense Report form and paid by the traveler.
8. Accompanied Travel – When a traveler is accompanied by others not on official business, any lodging, transportation, meals or other expenses above those incurred for the authorized traveler will not be reimbursed by the Library.
9. Parking – Parking fees at a hotel/motel, conference center, or other site will be reimbursed only with a receipt.
10. Entertainment Expenses – No employee or officer of the Library shall be reimbursed for any entertainment expense, unless ancillary to the purpose of the program, event or other official business.
E. Approval of Expenses.
1. Expenses for Members of the Library Board of Trustees. Travel, meal, and lodging expenses incurred by any member of the Library Board of Trustees must be approved by roll call vote at an open meeting of the Library Board of Trustees.
2. Expenses for Officials or Employees Other than Members of the Library Board of Trustees. Travel, meal, and lodging expenses incurred by any official or employee not covered by paragraph 1 must be previously approved in an open meeting by a majority roll-call vote of the Library Board of Trustees.
3. Advanced Expenses. Travel, meal, and lodging expenses advanced as a per diem to any employee or official of the Library must be approved by roll call vote at an open meeting of the Library Board of Trustees prior to payment. Documentation of expenses must be provided in accordance with Sections C, D and F of this policy, and any excess from the per diem must be repaid.
4. Other Expenses. All other expenses that do not fall within paragraphs E.1, E.2, or E.3 are subject to the Library Manager’s approval.
F. Documentation of Expenses.
Before an expense for travel, meals, or lodging may be approved under Section E of this Policy, the following minimum documentation must first be submitted, in writing, to the Library Manager (or Board of Trustees if the Library Manager) on a Travel, Meal, and Lodging Expense form:
1. An estimate of the cost of travel, meals, or lodging if expenses have not been incurred or a receipt for the travel, meals, or lodging if expenses have already been incurred;
2. The name of the individual who received or is requesting the travel, meal, or lodging expense reimbursement;
3. The job title or office of the individual who received or is requesting the travel, meal, or lodging expense reimbursement; and
4. The date or dates and nature of the official business for which the travel, meal, or lodging expense was or will be expended.
All documents and information submitted in connection with this Policy are public records subject to disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act.
G. Travel, Meal, and Lodging Expense Report Form.
The Library hereby adopts as its official standardized form for the submission of travel, meal, and lodging expenses the Travel, Meal, and Lodging Expense Report form attached hereto and incorporated herein as Attachment 1.
Library Manager Mileage Reimbursement for In-State Travel:
The Library Manager may request mileage reimbursement when he/she is using their personal vehicle for library business. The mileage reimbursement rate will be the Internal Revenue Service of the United States Department of Treasury current rate for the year. The effective date of the mileage rate change shall coincide with the Internal Revenue Service rate change effective date.
Parking fees, tolls and other travel expenses will be reimbursed at actual cost.
The Library Manager is authorized to travel within the state of New York to carry out the business of the Library at his/her discretion and under the Board of Trustees oversight.
The Library Board of Trustees gives authorization to the Library Manager for library-related travel to conduct Morrisville Public Library business, to attend meetings, training activities and professional conferences.
The personal vehicle or driver is covered by the library’s mandatory liability insurance.
All mileage claims must be submitted on a voucher in a timely manner to the Library Board of Trustees for approval. The exact mileage traveled must be included in the request for reimbursement as well as the date(s) of travel, origination and destination, purpose and any other pertinent information.
For travel to and from the home of the Library Manager, the mileage subject to reimbursement is computed by first subtracting the distance between the home and library. (For example, if the Library Manager travels from home to a meeting, then the Library will reimburse the Library Manager for the total mileage minus the distance from home to the Library.)
The Library Manager must hold a valid driver’s license. He/she must carry personal automobile insurance in compliance with the laws of the state in which their driver’s license was issued.
Material Transportation: If the Library Manager, in the rare instance, has to perform material transportation between libraries with his/her own vehicle, he/she will be eligible for mileage reimbursement at the IRS approved rate. Mileage reimbursement may also be provided to the Library Manager if required to use his/her own vehicle for the delivery or collection of materials to homebound patrons or collection of overdue library materials.
