Document 4
ADVISORY COMMITTEES’ PARTICIPATION EXPENSE COrporate
Policy
Approved By City Council |
Approval
Date: March 28,
2001 January 25, 2006 |
Section Corporate Services |
Effective Date: March 28, 2001 |
Subsection City Clerk’s Branch |
Revision Date: August 28, 2002
January 10, 2006 January/February 2007 |
Policy Statement The
Participation Expense Policy is a City of Ottawa policy regarding
reimbursement of expenses incurred by voting members of Advisory Committees. |
Purpose The
purpose of the Advisory Committee Participation Expense policy is to clearly
define what expenses shall be reimbursed, under what conditions, to whom, and
what if any minimum or maximum amounts apply to ensure all members clearly
understand what is or is not considered a legitimate expense. |
Application This policy applies to
Council appointed Advisory Committee Voting Members. In certain circumstances and outlined
within the policy *Reserve Members and **Subcommittee Members are
covered. *Reserve Member means a citizen who has been pre-approved but not appointed as an
Advisory Committee Member and is covered only when his or her attendance at
an event, meeting or conference has been specifically requested by the City
Clerk (See Also: “Definition” section for full definition). **Subcommittee Member means a citizen who is not an Advisory Committee Member, but who has
been invited by an Advisory Committee to participate on a Sub-Committee for
his or her unique skills and knowledge on a specific subject matter. These Sub-Committee Members may be
eligible for “Disabled Person’s Expense” (See Also: “Definition” section for
full definition). |
Policy Requirements 1. REIMBURSEMENT
POLICY Upon submission of an original receipt, all voting members deemed present in the approved *minutes of the meeting are authorized to receive reimbursement based on the following:
1.1. Parking expenses incurred to attend official meetings are eligible. The preferred method of payment for parking expenses at City facilities is via a parking stamp. 1.2.
Dependant Care expenses incurred to attend official
meetings will be eligible on the following basis: up to a maximum of
$7.50/hour. The amount payable will be calculated by the official start and
end time of the meeting PLUS up to a maximum of one hour for traveling time.
Reimbursement for dependant care on a per person basis will not
be eligible. 1.3. Specialized Dependant care expenses (for persons with exceptional needs) incurred to attend official meetings will be eligible on the following basis: up to a maximum of $15.00/hour. The amount payable will be calculated by the official start and end time of the meeting PLUS up to a maximum of one hour for traveling time. 1.4.
Bus Fare / Para Transpo Fare to and from official
meetings will be eligible. A bus transfer or receipt must be provided as
proof of payment. Upon receipt of
such a proof of payment, the City of Ottawa shall reimburse the member with
the appropriate number of bus tickets for a return trip by the same mode of
transportation (2 tickets per trip – 4 tickets for a return trip). 1.5. Mileage for members using a personal vehicle to attend official meetings will be eligible at the rate of $0.35/km. 1.6. Reimbursement for meals or refreshments or other out of pocket expenses such as taxis will not be eligible. 1.7. Reimbursement for meetings with Community Groups, Members of Council, staff, citizens or otherwise are not eligible for reimbursement under this policy. Some form of reimbursement may be available from the meeting’s host. Some exceptions will be made for the Chairs. 1.8. Reimbursement for expenses incurred to perform the duties of the members will not be eligible, including, but not limited to, reimbursement for office supplies, technology or telephone expenses etc. (*For Subcommittee meetings a list of
attendees and topics discussed is acceptable) 2.
LIMITATIONS OF THE POLICY
2.1. The staff of City Clerk's Branch reserve the right to review and/or refuse any expenses submitted by a voting citizen member for reimbursement, with reasonable cause and justification. 2.2. If it can be proven that a member is submitting fraudulent claims for participation expenses the City of Ottawa, City Clerk's Branch, reserves the right to either: 2.2.1. Refuse to reimburse the specific individual; and/or 2.2.2. Refer the incident to Corporate Security or the appropriate authorities. |
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Responsibilities Advisory Committee Members
must provide an original receipt before he/she will be reimbursed. All Committee Coordinators are responsible for enforcing
the policy and for ensuring each Advisory Committee member including Reserve
Members are fully aware of the policy. In the event of a dispute, the Manager of Council & Committee
Services shall review the request and advise the requesting member of his/her
final decision. |
monitoring/Contraventions All
reimbursement claims are submitted on a form, which must be authorized for
payment by the Manager, Council & Committee Services. The City Clerk’s Office also reserves the right to monitor and audit claims on an ad-hoc basis to ensure the policy is being applied consistently and to assist in ensuring reimbursement requests are not fraudulent in nature. Any suspected fraudulent claims shall be referred to the City’s Corporate Security office – and/or other appropriate authority(ies). Failure
to comply with this reimbursement criteria (original receipts, etc.) may deem
the claim void. |
References Corporate Services & Economic Report No. ACS2001-CRS-SEC-0016 Corporate Services & Economic Report No. ACS2002-CRS-SEC-0061 Council
& Committee Procedural By-law 2005-431; Advisory
Committee Procedural By-Law 2006-64 &
Code of Conduct; Appointment
Policy (Citizen Members of City Advisory Committees, Boards, Task Forces and
External Boards and Commissions and Authorities) Corporate Policy. |
legislative & administrative authorities See Above “Reference” Section. |
Definitions 1.1.
Official Meeting: is defined as one of the following: 1.1.1.
the one meeting per
month of the Advisory Committee as established by the Committee, 1.1.2.
any official
subcommittee meeting as approved by the advisory committee, 1.1.3. a meeting of any Advisory Committee to which
a member has been appointed as a liaison member; 1.1.4. a meeting
where a motion and/or minutes exist(s) that show the member was specifically
requested to attend on behalf of the Committee on a day and time outside of a
regularly scheduled Advisory Committee meeting. 1.1.5.
a Standing Committee
meeting where an official designate of the Advisory Committee makes
presentation to said standing committee; or 1.1.6.
where any one member
has been officially appointed by the Committee to represent the views of the
Committee at a conference, speaking engagement, etc. 1.2.
Attendance: A Citizen
voting member shall be deemed present if the accepted minutes of the meeting
so indicate. Where the request for
reimbursement is for a subcommittee meeting at which there is no Committee
Coordinator present, one voting member of the Committee shall be deemed
responsible to record the time, date, topics discussed and attendance at the meeting and forward the information to
the Committee Coordinator. 1.3.
Dependant care with exceptional needs: A
dependant is deemed to have exceptional needs if the member provides a
certificate signed by a doctor which states that the dependant requires
specialized care during the member’s absence from the home. This clause allows for the reimbursement
of dependant care expenses in excess of the normally permitted $7.50 per hour
maximum. This exception is available
for people caring for children or adults requiring special care,(e.g. a
partner, parent or adult child). 1.4.
Disabled persons’
expense: is defined as an expense,
which must be incurred in order to provide a service without which the Member
cannot participate in the meeting, (e.g. intervenors, interpreters, real-time
captioning or Braille text) because of the Member's disability. 1.5.
Bus
Fare/Para-Transpo Fare:
Reimbursement shall be provided for any extra bus fare incurred by a member
to attend the meeting. Bus transfer
or receipt is deemed as acceptable proof of payment.
1.6. Mileage: Mileage shall be calculated by the member on the basis of the SHORTEST distance to and from the meeting from work, home, or the next closest destination of the member. 1.7. Parking: Any long or short-term placement of a personal vehicle in a monitored or unmonitored area. Because a receipt is necessary for any reimbursement, parking meters are not eligible for reimbursement, nor will parking tickets incurred as a result of meeting attendance be reimbursed. 1.8. Reserve Member: means a citizen who has been pre-approved but not appointed as an Advisory Committee member during the selection process and placed on a list of reserve members who may be called upon should there be a mid-term vacancy on the committee for which they are on the reserve list. Although a Reserve Member may ask and be granted permission by an Advisory Committee to participate in a meeting, that reserve member does not have the authority or powers of a sitting citizen member in that he or she cannot vote at meetings, is not an official representative of a committee and is not eligible for coverage under the City's Expense Policy (Participation in Advisory Committee meetings is purely voluntary and one’s choice to not attend meetings does not disqualify him or her from being called upon to replace a vacancy nor does it adversely affect one’s application to become a sitting citizen member at a later date). 1.9. Sub-Committee Member: is a citizen who is not an Advisory Committee Member, but who has been invited by the Committee to participate on an Advisory Committee Sub-committee for his or her unique set of skills or expertise, which otherwise do not exist within the current Committee’s complement. These members are eligible for reimbursement of “disabled person’s expense.” |
Key
Word Search Expense Policy
Advisory Committees Reimbursement Policy
Bus Fare Travel Expenses |
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Enquiries Manager,
Council & Committee Services City
Clerk’s Branch City of
Ottawa 110
Laurier Avenue, West Ottawa, Ontario, K1P 1J1 (613)
580- 2424 – Ext. 26836 |
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Appendices |