AgdaPkt 2006-06-19 - Laserfiche WebLink

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6.28 [REPORT Page 1 I To the Honorable Mayor sl'ld GiiyQauncil I From the Oity. MaJ"'iaget i I '--- June 19,2006 Subject City Council Expense Reimbursement Policy Recommendation It is recommended that the City Council (all references to City Council include the City Council serving in their roles as the City of Redwood City Redevelopment Agency Board of Directors and City of Redwood City Public Financing Authority Board of Directors) review and adopt the resolution approving the attached policy governing the use and expenditures of City resources by council members. Backgrou nd Effective January 1, 2006, the California Government Code was amended to require that local entities adopt, at a public meeting, a policy regarding reimbursable expenses for council members prior to paying for expenses allowed by the policy. Attached to this staff report is the draft reimbursement policy for Council consideration. This policy has been drafted utilizing the recommended policy provided through the League of California Cities. The statutes authorizing expense reimbursement require that "an expense must meet four requirements to be reimbursable: (1) It must be an expense of a member of the Council; (2) it must be an 'actual' expense; (3) the expense must have been 'incurred in the performance of official duties'; and (4) it must be a 'necessary' expense. Analysis The Government Code authorizes (but does not require) the reimbursement for expenses incurred by members of the local agency's governing boards in attending: . A meeting of the City Council; . A meeting of an advisory board; or . A conference or organized educational activity conducted in compliance with the Government Code, including but not limited to ethics training, which will now also be required by the Government Code. The amendments to the Government Code provide that a local agency may also pay compensation for attendance at occurrences not specified above on Iv if the governing board has adopted, in a public meeting, a written policy specifying other types of occasions which constitute the performance of official duties for which a member of the Cou ncil may receive payment. Pursuant to the Government Code, if a local agency reimburses members of the Council for actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their official duties, the written policy, adopted in a public meeting, must specify the types of occurrences that qualify for reimbursement relating to travel, meals, lodging, and other actual and necessary expenses. The policy must also specify the reasonable reimbursement fates for travel, meals, lodging, and other actual and necessary expenses. If it does not, the City must use Internal Revenue Service rates for reimbursement of travel,