RESOLUTION NO.
3604
A RESOLUTION
of the Port Commission of the Port of Seattle Establishing Guidelines,
Rules and Procedures Governing the Authorization and Conduct of Port Commission and
Employee Travel and Reimbursement of Travel and Other Business Expenses and
Repealing Resolution No. 3 195.
WHEREAS,
RCW 42.24.1 20- 1 60 authorizes municipal corporations to advance travel
and related expenses to Port Commissioners and employees, and
WHEREAS,
RCW 53.08.1 75-1 76 authorizes a port district to advance travel and related
expenses to Port Commissioners and employees, and requires the port district to adopt by
resolution rules and regulations governing the reimbursement and payment of travel and
other business expenses incurred by Port Commissioners and employees;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED
BY
THE PORT COMMISSION OF
THE PORT OF SEATTLE
that it shall be the policy of the Port of Seattle that all Port
Commissioners and employees of the Port shall receive their reasonable and necessary
expenses when engaged in official Port business within or outside the district and that the
Port Auditor shall determine the appropriateness of claims under the guidelines herein
provided, and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED
that, pursuant to RCW 42.24.120-1 60 and RCW
53.08.175- 176, rules, regulations and procedures are hereby established to govern the
advancement of funds and the reimbursement and payment of travel and other business
expenses incurred by Port Commissioners and employees as follows:
SECTION 1
:
OFFICIAL TRAVEL DEFINED. Port Commissioners and employees
shall be engaged in official travel on behalf of the port district when travel is:
1. Connected with calling upon customers or potential customers of the Port for the
purpose of promoting and selling the services and facilities of the Port.
2. Required for the purpose of meeting with, negotiating or consulting with others for
the purpose of carrying out official functions, duties or projects of the Port.
3. Connected with attendance at meetings of organizations in which the Port holds
memberships, or to which Port Commissioners or employees are officially affiliated for
purposes of education, research, promotion or joint action, (so long as the meeting is
attended for a legitimate business purpose and the attending Port Commissioner or
employee is an appropriate representative of the Port. When any Port Commissioner is
designated as
the official Port representative in any organization, that Port Commissioner
shall be deemed to be engaged in official Port business when attending any regular
meeting of the organization).
4.
Connected with attendance at regular and special meetings and regular and special
work sessions of the Port Commission by Port Commissioners from their place of
residence or employment (whichever is appropriate) to the place of meeting of the
Commission.
5.
Port Commissioners and employees shall avoid travel situations in which
requesting, accepting, or granting special favors might incur obligation, or the perception
of an obligation, concerning the conduct of Port business.
SECTION
2:
TRAVEL AUTHORIZATION AND COORDINATION.
1.
At the beginning of each year, the Port Commission shall consider and approve a
motion authorizing Commission international travel
that reasonably can be anticipated for
the following year.
2.
Such international travel that has not been approved as provided in section
1
above
shall be authorized by the Port Commission at a public meeting in advance whenever
reasonably possible. When advance authorization is not reasonably possible or in
extraordinary circumstances, the President of the Port Commission may authorize such
travel. In such instances, the President shall advise the other members of the Port
Commission.
3.
All requests involving travel by a Port Commissioner, whether originating from
groups outside the Port, or from a Commissioner, or from Port staff, shall be directed to
the President of the Port Commission.
4.
The President of the Port Commission is charged with responsibility for coordinating
travel among members of the Port Commission.
5.
The Chief Executive Officer is charged with responsibility for coordinating travel for
Port staff in accordance with the provisions of Resolution No.
3181,
as Amended.
Participation by staff in Port Commission travel shall be coordinated by the Chief
Executive Officer in consultation with the President of the Port Commission, with
notification to the other members of the Port Commission.
6.
Port Commissioners shall advise other Port Commissioners and staff of
significant information learned on Port travel.
SECTION
3:
TRAVEL REIMBURSEMENTS.
In filing claims for reimbursement for travel and other business expenses, Port
Commissioners and employees shall use an official Port Claim for Expense form. All
claims for reimbursement shall be supported by such receipts, documents or other
evidence as may hereinafter be required.
SECTION 4: TRAVEL EXPENSES. Travel expenses shall be defined to include the
following items:
1. Transportation via official motor vehicle; private automobiles; public transportation
(airline, railroad, bus line, or waterborne); taxicab, limousine; rented vehicle; or other
appropriate means of transportation.
a.
Automobile Reimbursement: When private vehicles are used, the Port
Commissioner or employee shall be reimbursed at a rate which the Internal Revenue
Service recognizes as meeting the requirement for accounting to employers, except as
may be modified by paragraph b. of this subsection.
b. Automobile Allowance: The Chief Financial Officer is authorized to provide an
allowance; payable at the end of a period in which expenses are incurred, for the use
of a private automobile by Port employees who require substantial use of an
automobile to perform their assigned duties for the Port. Such allowance shall be in
lieu of all mileage payments
andlor the use of any Port-owned or leased vehicle.
Such allowance shall be established and renewed annually for each employee after
completion of the Automobile Allowance form. The allowance percentage will be
based upon reasonable mileage records
from the previous year and will be fixed at
that percentage for one year unless there is a change in circumstances such as job
requirements or residence location.
c.
Air Class: Authorized Port air travel arrangements for Port Commissioners and
Port employees will be at economy, coach class or its equivalent, except the Chief
Executive Officer or a Port Commissioner may authorize a class change to business
or first class or equivalent under the following conditions:
When it is essential that the Port commissioner or employee conduct business
enroute with a customer who is ticketed in a class other than coach.
Where the origin and/or destination are outside the continental US, and the
scheduled flight time, including connecting flights and change of planes, is in
excess of 14 hours.
When regularly scheduled flights between
origiddestination points provide only
first-class and business-class accommodations or when time is of the essence and
no coach class or equivalent rate or space is available.
When a special condition or circumstance exists such as a physical condition,
security, or carry-on requirements (packages or equipment), which cannot be
accommodated by coach class travel.
When the class change results in an overall cost savings to the Port by avoiding
additional subsistence costs, overtime, or lost productive time while awaiting
coach-class accommodations.
2.
includes hotel, motel or similar accommodations as may be required. A
receipt shall be submitted for lodging with any reimbursement voucher.
3.
Subsistence includes charges for all meals required when traveling. The cost of a
meal may include payment for table service, commonly referred to as a gratuity, not to
exceed 15% of the price of the meal.
4.
Miscellaneous and general expenses connected with traveling may include, but are
not limited to, the cost of attending regular meetings of official groups in which the Port
holds memberships or is otherwise officially affiliated, reasonable telephone and
telegraph services, registration fees, baggage and luggage handling charges, printed
materials, laundry and dry cleaning, parking fees, tolls, stenographic, secretarial and other
charges permitted by law. Receipts may be required for items in this category.
SECTION 5: TRAVEL ADVANCES.
1.
The Port Auditor is authorized to establish a special fund in the form of a separate
bank account, with an institution approved by the
Washngton Public Deposit
Protection Commission, which shall be reimbursed by warrant from time to time as
may be required, for the purpose of financing travel and related expenses (including
promotional hosting) to Port Commissioners and employees. Said fund is to have a
maximum appropriation of $50,000.00, and the Port Auditor is authorized to establish
the needed appropriation from time to time as
helshe deems necessary, provided that
in no event shall the appropriation be greater than $50,000.00.
2.
The Port Auditor is authorized to advance funds to Port Commissioners and
employees subject to the following terms and conditions:
a. Port Commissioners and employees must submit an approved Travel
Authorization and Fund Advance Form.
b. The total advance that may be made to a Port Commissioner or employee shall be
by check and will be determined by the number of actual days of approved travel,
taking into consideration the anticipated cost of lodging, subsistence, public
transportation, and any required promotional hosting expenditures, during the
business trip and at the travel destination.
c.
No advance may be made to a Port Commissioner or employee who has an
outstanding travel advance which has not been accounted for by an approved
Claim for Expenses.
d. All advances shall be made subject to the condition that each Port Commissioner
or employee shall submit to the Accounting Department cashier an itemized
Claim for Expenses setting forth the actual expenditures made and a copy of the
approved Travel Authorization and Fund Advance form. Submission of this
documentation must be made within ten (1 0) calendar days following the close of
the authorized travel period for which the expenses have been advanced. If such
expense documents show that advances exceed the amount actually expended by
such Port Commissioner or employee then such documents shall be accompanied
by said excess amount in repayment of the Port.
e.
In order to protect the Port of Seattle from any loss, the Port retains the right of
lien against any funds, including salary, payable to such Port Commissioner or
employee including interest in the amount of ten percent (1
0%)
per annum
beginning on the
1
lth
calendar day following the close of the authorized travel
period. The Port shall have the right to withhold from any payroll or other funds
due the Port Commissioner or employee an amount equal to any delinquent
advance reimbursement and the interest due thereon.
SECTION
6:
TRAVEL ARRANGEMENTS.
Travel arrangements for Port Commissioners and employees generally shall be made by
an agency contracted by the Port to provide travel services for the Port of Seattle.
Exceptions may be made when Port Commissioners or employees are traveling as part of
a group which has made special travel arrangements or when changes must be made after
travel commences or when other circumstances made individual arrangements more
appropriate or convenient for the Port.
SECTION 7: USE OF CREDIT CARDS.
Individual or Port credit cards may be obtained under the Port's applicable
pmchasiag
procedure for use in conducting Port business. Credit cards acquired by the Port for
Commissioners or employees may be used only in connection with authorized Port
business or travel. Credit cards acquired in the name of the Port for the purchase of
motor
fuel and related items shall be used only for Port-owned vehicles. For any charge
against a Port-acquired credit card, no payment shall be made to a credit card company
until each Port Commissioner or employee using a card has certified that all items of
expense incurred under the credit card are just, due and unpaid obligations of the Port of
Seattle and the vouchers have been audited and found to be in order.
SECTION
8:
REPEAL OF PREVIOUS RESOLUTIONS.
Resolution
No.3 195, previously passed by the Port Commission and dealing with the
same subject matter, is hereby repealed.
SECTION 9: MANDATED REVIEW.
The Commission will review this resolution one year from of its enactment. At that time,
staff will provide the Commission with a comparison of annual travel costs from the pre-
revised policy and of annual travel costs
from the new policy, as expressed in this
resolution.
Should the Commission be unable to meet that deadline, this policy will remain in effect
until a formal review takes place. At that point, the Commission may vote to retain this
policy or adjust it.
9-h
Awust
ADOPTED
by the Port Commission of the Port of Seattle this =day of
J&y,
2008,
and duly authenticated in open session by the signatures of the Commissioners voting in
favor thereof and
the seal of the commission.
Commissioner Bill Bryant
Commissioner John Creighton
Commissioner Pat Davis
Commissioner Lloyd
~ara
BILL
Commissioner Gael Tarleton
