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Policy - Employee Expense - 20240101 100 John West Way Aurora, Ontario L4G 6J1 (905) 727-3123 aurora.ca Town of Aurora Employee Expense Policy Corporate Services Department Contact: Manager, Human Resources, Human Resources, Corporate Services & Manager, Financial Reporting & Revenue / Deputy Treasurer, Finance Approval Authority: Chief Administrative Officer Effective: January 1, 2024 Revised: December 2023 ______________________________________________________________________________________ Background This policy addresses the methods and procedures by which the groups outlined below will be governed when attending to business related to their respective governing bodies, including but not limited to conferences, conventions, seminars, as well as business and business entertainment expenses either within the Town limits or beyond; and provides for the associated compensation entitlements. Objective The Corporation of the Town of Aurora recognizes that employees will incur reasonable expenses when conducting the business of the Town. It is deemed appropriate that a policy establishing allowable expenses and the process for claiming for reimbursement be established. Exceptions in any category must be approved by the Chief Administrative Officer. Scope This policy applies to all employees of the Town. General principles outline the expectations of the policy. The policy covers allowable expenses, meal per diem rates, kilometre reimbursement rates and when these expenses can be incurred. Business related goods and services should be purchased using the Town’s purchasing card (P-Card) except under exceptional circumstances in accordance with the P-Card Policy and Procedures. The focus of this policy is on employee related expenses. Members of Council are not employees and expense reimbursement is covered through the Administrative Policies and Procedures – Compensation and Support for Members of Council. A Member of Council shall refer to the Compensation and Support for 2 Members of Council policy to submit expenses, and may use the Employees Expenses policy only as a guideline in submitting their own expenses. Definitions Accommodation Commercial lodging facilities such as hotels, motels, corporate residences, or apartments. Approver The person responsible for administering this policy, having budgetary control over the general ledger account to be expensed, and having authority over the employees incurring the expenditure as well as the appropriate financial authority to approve the expense. Employee An employee of the Town and does not include any Member of Council. (Employees may be full-time, part-time, contract and or casual). Expense Report Includes both manual forms (e.g., expense form) and corporate purchasing card statements, as applicable. Incidental/Personal Expenses Includes, but is not limited to gratuities/tips, non-alcoholic beverages, personal phone calls, laundry, and dry cleaning. Receipt Document (electronic or paper) created by the vendor, displaying the name of the vendor, as well as the date, amount and description of the expenditure paid by the employee. Town The Corporation of the Town of Aurora. Town Business Attending an event as a representative of the Town, to derive a benefit for the Town, or to advance the interests of the Town. Policy General Principles Town employees will be reimbursed for reasonable expenses incurred while attending functions or meetings on behalf of the Town or while conducting Town business. A P- Card, if available, should be used to cover employee related expenses. The most practical and economical arrangements for expenses is required. Out of Province travel must be pre-approved by the Chief Administrative Officer for employees. Expenses incurred in relation to a spouse/companion must be deducted prior to submitting an Expense Report. These costs are the responsibility of the employee. Employees are responsible for the payment/repayment of any expense they incur or authorize that is not in accordance with this policy. A detailed receipt, documenting the item purchased, is required. 3 This policy shall not be taken to alter the terms of any Collective Agreement, nor shall it authorize any expenditure not covered in the current budget. The costs associated with this policy must be included and approved in the annual budget. Expenses reimbursed by another entity, board, government, commission, etc. are to be deducted from the claim submitted to the Town. Expense claims made by employees must be submitted within 30 days of the expense using the Oracle Cloud Expense. Approval Expense claims must be authorized by an employee’s Manager or higher level of authority where the value exceeds the Manager’s financial authority limit. Persons with the authority to approve expense claims must ensure that: • Expenses were incurred in the performance of Town business; • Expenses are reasonable; • Expenses comply with this and any other Town policy; • Appropriate receipts are provided; • Claims are mathematically correct. Advances Advances may be acquired in extraordinary circumstances and with the approval of the employee’s Director or CAO. Responsibilities Chief Administrative Officer is responsible to ensure that the principles and mandatory requirements contained in this policy are applied consistently across the Town; approving exemptions, when, in their professional judgment it is warranted; and authorizing expenses for Directors. Corporate Services and Finance are responsible for developing and updating this policy, in consultation with the CAO, the Corporate Management Team and the Executive Leadership Team and to ensure that the principles and mandatory requirements contained in this policy are applied consistently across the Town and highlight any inconsistencies to the appropriate Director/Manager and/or CAO as appropriate. Employees are responsible for reading the policy to ensure that they understand their rights and obligations; exploring the most economical and practical mode of incurring expenses under this policy and obtaining approval from the appropriate approval authority if there is a question as to the validity of the expense. 4 Approvers which may include any people leader with financial authority to approve expenses must ensure that they have the financial authority to approve the expense, be knowledgeable with the requirements of this policy and ensure approvals are consistent with the expectations laid out in this policy. Eligible and Ineligible Expenses: Travel Wherever possible, the means of transportation used must be the most economical for the Town. It is recommended that a rental car be retained for total (roundtrip) distances exceeding 150 km. The employee should discuss the proposed arrangement with their supervisor prior to travelling to ensure the most economical method for the Town. Employees cannot claim mileage if a rental vehicle is used, however, the direct purchase of fuel for the rental vehicle is considered an eligible expense which may be reimbursed. Employees who use their own vehicle for travel on Town business must document their kilometres driven for each leg of their travel for each day, using the Oracle Cloud Map Services. Employees are expected to use the most direct route to their destination. Reasonable routing for multiple destinations in a single day is expected, with the actual cumulative distance driven reimbursed. Travel distance to non-Town owned locations shall be the lessor of the below and, if applicable, the distance between two non-Town owned locations: • Employees residence to the non-Town owned location; or • Employee’s normal Town own work facility to the non-Town owned location. Driving beyond the borders of Ontario is to be pre-approved in writing by the CAO prior to travel. Commuting from home to a Town facility is not eligible for reimbursement. Senior employees whose compensation includes a monthly vehicle allowance are not eligible to claim per-kilometre reimbursement for business travel except for out-of-Town travel. Per-kilometre reimbursement rate will be set in accordance with the annual prescribed Canada Revenue Agency “reasonable” rate. No additional reimbursement will be made in relation to accidents, incidents, damages, or losses, including interior or exterior cleaning and car maintenance, subject to the following exception: 5 • Fuel is not considered an eligible expense unless a rental car is used. All employees will be designated a base location which will be considered their normal place for reporting to work. Changes to an employee’s reporting work location for determining mileage claims shall be approved by the appropriate Director. A designated base location shall be the Town facility that is the employee’s designated work location. If more than one person is traveling in a single vehicle, only the person incurring the expense may claim for reimbursement. Parking: Parking lot charges shall be reimbursed based on paid receipts, to be submitted at the time the associated mileage reimbursement is claimed. Parking fines: Parking fines and other infractions are not reimbursed as these are the direct responsibility of the driver. Naturally, this extends to infractions while driving Town owned vehicles as well as personal vehicles. Exception: Other infractions when driving a Town owned vehicle related to maintenance of the vehicle would be eligible for reimbursement. An employee that has no access to their own vehicle may choose to rent a vehicle for business travel. Reimbursement will be in the same manner as they would have, if they used their own vehicle for the travel or the actual rental costs, whichever is less. Highway 407 Toll Charges: The Town will pay costs of 407 or other highway tolls where appropriate. Transit and taxi: The Town will reimburse reasonable amounts for appropriate use of transit, taxi, and airport limousines upon presentation of receipts. Air travel: The Town will reimburse costs for appropriate use of air travel. Pre-approval by the Director or CAO, in the case of a Director, is required prior to confirming flight arrangements. Air travel shall be by the most economic seating available on the most appropriate commercial airline connections in the circumstances. In no circumstances shall first class or similar premier seating fares be reimbursed. Use of taxi, bus, airport limousine or similar services from the employee’s home to the airport and back, is considered as a reasonable alternative to driving to the airport and parking an owned vehicle while away and will be reimbursed. Accommodation Where possible, all accommodations are to be booked at the “government, conference or corporate rate.” 6 Allowable expenses include, parking, accommodation, work-related required telephone calls and/or faxes and Wi-Fi charges if work is required to be performed. Ineligible expenses include entertainment, in-suite service including movies and bar services, alcohol, sightseeing expenses, and incidental charges to access hotel facilities. Conferences (Excludes Training) The Town will cover the actual cost of registration for all conventions, seminars, or other events that employees have been authorized to attend. Entertainment expenses are not eligible. Meals Reasonable costs, will be reimbursed, based on the actual detailed receipts. Cost guidelines, including gratuity are as follows: Breakfast - $15 per person Lunch - $25 per person Dinner - $30 per person Detailed receipts shall be notated with the names of all meal attendees. The most senior member of staff or delegate staff will pay for the meal by P-Card (preferred method) or by personal funds for claim by expense report. Generally, alcohol is not an eligible expense. Requests to approve alcohol expenses should be pre-approved by the CAO and only in exceptional circumstances where there is a legitimate business reason. Networking: Reasonable costs associated with attendance at networking events or functions arranged by associations or conference organizers, including sporting or entertainment events, golf tournaments (including when in conjunction with a conference), where attendance or representation at such event is beneficial to the employee’s work effectiveness for Town purposes, will be reimbursed, where written pre- approval by the Director is obtained. Spousal/family member surcharges: When travelling on Town business, where appropriate, a spouse, partner or family member may accompany the employee member. All surcharges and costs associated with such persons must be borne by the employee. Meetings and Town staff only related expenses: Modest expenses for meeting supplies or meetings with employees where appropriate will be reimbursed, subject to annual 7 budget allocations. Similarly, the Town’s P-Card should be used for these types of expenses. Special Occasions: Reasonable expenses for special events, such as the departure of an employee or summer student, or significant graduation, will be reimbursed. Birthday celebrations are not considered a special occasion under this section. Business Meeting Expenses Reasonable business meeting expenses are permissible under this policy. Business meetings shall not be claimed when only Town employees are involved for social interaction only (such as, birthday celebrations). Business meetings are strictly to be used for the purposes of doing business on behalf of the Town. Any business meeting expenses e.g. lunch or dinner where only employees are involved must be supported with an explanation of the business purpose. Business meeting expenses may be paid for using a Town’s P-Card. Memberships The Town will pay membership and association fees for those organizations and professional associations that generate important and current technical and professional information to the Town. The Town will pay for professional membership and association fees for employees who carry a designation and/or certification to perform their duties and responsibilities. Payment of personal professional membership and association fees is to be approved by the employee’s Director or the CAO, in the case of a Director. Employee Gifts Gifts to employees for retirement or any other type of celebration are not permitted under this policy. Monitoring and Compliance Each Director is responsible for monitoring compliance with the policy for their own employees. Issues of compliance should be brought up to the Director and / or Human Resources for review and any required action. References/Codes Compensation and Support for Members of Council 8 Review Timeline This policy will be reviewed 2 years after the initial approval date.