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POLICY WEST HANTS REGIONAL MUNICIPALITY
RCOFN-006.00
EXPENSE POLICY
West Hants Regional Municipality
Page 1 of 5
Expense Policy, RCOFN-006.00
1. PURPOSE
The purpose of this Policy is to provide direction for reimbursement of necessary,
actual, and reasonable expenses incurred in the conduct of West Hants Regional
Municipality business.
2. DEFINITIONS
For the purposes of this Policy, the following definitions are provided:
a. "CAO" refers to the Chief Administrative Officer of the Municipality.
b. "Resident Member" refers to committee members who are not members of
Council or Municipal employees.
c. "Collective Agreement" refers to the current written contract of
employment, which contains provisions governing the terms and conditions
of employment for certain employees.
d. "Council" means the Council of the Municipality.
e. "Councillor" refers to a Council member and includes the Mayor and
Deputy Mayor, unless otherwise indicated.
f. "Employee" refers to any person directly employed by the Municipality.
g. "Municipality" refers to West Hants Regional Municipality.
3. APPLICATION
This Policy applies to all councillors, employees, and committee resident
members of the Municipality.
Any breach of this Policy will be reviewed and may result in corrective or
disciplinary action in accordance with applicable policies.
4. TRAVEL EXPENSES
Travel will be planned, with reservations made in advance, to take advantage of
early booking discounts, when possible. Prior to booking travel, employees will
ensure it is budgeted for and approved.
-
Employees will ensure the appropriate approvals are obtained from their
Director.
-
Directors will ensure the appropriate approvals are obtained from the
CAO.
POLICY WEST HANTS REGIONAL MUNICIPALITY
RCOFN-006.00
EXPENSE POLICY
West Hants Regional Municipality
Page 2 of 5
Expense Policy, RCOFN-006.00
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Councillors will ensure the appropriate approvals are obtained from the
CAO.
Employees, with consultation from Directors and Department Administration, are
responsible to make all travel bookings, including those for hotels and
transportation.
-
Travel bookings for councillors will be the responsibility of the department
in which the travel is related.
Airfare
-
Employees, councillors, and resident members are required to use the
lowest logical airfare.
o
Payments for airline tickets will be made using a Municipal credit
card, for the additional travel insurance available for the
cancellation of flights, lost baggage, and medical care.
o
Travel points associated with the purchase of tickets will be used by
the Municipality to offset future travel costs.
Lodgings
-
Employees, councillors, and resident members will use the hotel with the
lowest reasonable cost, while balancing the proximity to the main
conference or meeting location.
o
Personal charges, such as in-room movies or bar fridges, will not
be expensed to the Municipality.
Automobile Use
-
Employees, councillors, and resident members use of a personal
automobile for business purposes will be reimbursed for actual vehicle
use.
-
The authorized mileage allowance rate will be set by the Municipality,
yearly, based on the Province of Nova Scotia Mileage Rate.
-
Mileage will be calculated based on the Google Map mileage from the
starting point to the destination address, using the shortest, logical route.
If the employee is not leaving from the Municipal Office, the employee
must subtract the total kilometres they would have used going to and
from home.
o
The Municipality may set specific mileage for frequently visited
locations, such as the local bank branch or post office.
-
For more than one employee, councillor, or resident member travelling to
a common destination or for travel exceeding 300 kilometres, the most
POLICY WEST HANTS REGIONAL MUNICIPALITY
RCOFN-006.00
EXPENSE POLICY
West Hants Regional Municipality
Page 3 of 5
Expense Policy, RCOFN-006.00
economical and safe means of transportation, as determined by the
Director or Manager, will be used (for example, carpooling or car rental).
When travelling on Municipal business additional miscellaneous expenses may be
incurred. Items such as ground transportation, laundry and dry cleaning (where
the length of stay exceeds three (3) days), parking, tolls, etc., may be eligible
for reimbursement.
5. MEAL ALLOWANCES
Meal allowances will be paid on a per diem basis, or if applicable, as per the
Collective Agreement. The following per diem rates are inclusive of taxes and
gratuities.
Per Diem
Canada (CDN $)
Breakfast
$ 17.00
Lunch
$ 20.00
Dinner
$ 30.00
Incidentals
$ 5.00
Breakfast
-
The cost of breakfast may be claimed only when the employee has been
travelling on Municipal business for more than one (1) hour before the
recognized start time for the day's work.
Lunch
-
The cost of lunch may be claimed only when the employee has been
travelling on Municipal business beginning before 12 pm.
Dinner
-
The cost of the evening meal may be claimed when the employee is not
expected to return to their residence before 6:30 pm.
Incidentals
-
The cost of incidentals will only be claimed when the employee is staying
overnight while on Municipal business.
o
Incidentals are for out of pocket expenses that the employee would
not have incurred had they not been travelling. These may include
using the copier in a business centre, sending mail, etc.
Meal allowance per diems will be reduced for each business conference meal
provided, including meals provided by host organizations or other parties.
Specific high cost destinations will be addressed by the CAO on a case-by-case
basis and authorized prior to travel.
POLICY WEST HANTS REGIONAL MUNICIPALITY
RCOFN-006.00
EXPENSE POLICY
West Hants Regional Municipality
Page 4 of 5
Expense Policy, RCOFN-006.00
For Municipal business meetings held by Councillors with awareness of staff, the
cost of meals provided must be reasonable and a receipt will be provided for
reimbursement. Alcoholic beverages will not be expensed.
6. MEETING MEAL ALLOWANCE
On days where there are scheduled meetings of Council or Committees of
Council, employees may choose to stay between closing hours and evening
meeting times. Employees are entitled to a meeting meal allowance of $12.50 in
lieu of mileage.
7. CONFERENCES/WORKSHOPS/EVENTS
Employees, councillors, and resident members may claim all registration fees
and course enrolment fees as an expense with prior approval.
8. REIMBURSEMENT
The Expense Claim Form must be submitted for approval to the CAO or Director
within thirty (30) business days.
-
Travel expenses incurred in foreign currency, must be converted by the
traveler to equivalent Canadian dollars on the rate charged on the credit
card or Bank of Canada exchange rates on the day of the transactions.
-
When out-of-pocket expenses are anticipated to exceed $200, an advance
amount to 75% of the costs may be paid to the individual if deemed
necessary by the CAO or Director.
All expenses incurred by Council and the CAO will be posted on the Municipal
website for public information, quarterly.
9. REVIEW
In accordance with Municipal Government Act, Section 23(7) by the January 31st
immediately following a regular election held under the Municipal Elections Act,
Council will review the Expense Policy and following a motion by Council, either
re-adopt the Policy or amend the Policy and adopt as amended.
10. REPEAL
The Travel Expense Policy dated November 1, 2016 of the former Town of
Windsor is hereby repealed.
POLICY WEST HANTS REGIONAL MUNICIPALITY
RCOFN-006.00
EXPENSE POLICY
West Hants Regional Municipality
Page 5 of 5
Expense Policy, RCOFN-006.00
I, Rhonda Brown, Municipal Clerk of the West Hants Regional Municipality,
the Province of Nova Scotia, do hereby certify that this is a true copy of
the Policy as adopted by the Council of the West Hants Regional
Municipality at a meeting duly called and held on the 26th day of May,
2020.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
R.N. Brown
Municipal Clerk
Adoption
Notice to Council:
May 12, 2020
Approval:
May 26, 2020
Description: Initial approval of Expense Policy, RCOFN-006.00.