Document 9
ADVISORY COMMITTEES’ PARTICIPATION EXPENSE COrporate
Policy
Approved By City Council |
Approval Date: March 28, 2001 |
Section Corporate Services |
Effective Date: March 28, 2001 |
Subsection City Clerk’s Branch |
Revision Date: August 28, 2002 January 10, 2006 December 6, 2006 December
8, 2010 |
Policy Statement The
Participation Expense Policy is a City of Ottawa policy regarding
reimbursement of expenses incurred by voting members and reserve 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 and *Reserve Members. In certain circumstances and outlined
within the policy *Reserve Member means a citizen who has been pre-approved but not appointed as an
Advisory Committee Member **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 for conventional bus transit. 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). For a Para receipt the Committee member must submit a request to
the respective Committee Coordinator (request must include first and last
name, Para client number, pick up and drop off locations (i.e. work, home or
other), date and time (approximate) of travel each way, method of payment
(i.e. tickets, cash or a combination of pass and tickets/cash). This should be provided in writing, though
in some circumstances, the Committee Coordinator may accept the information
verbally and make note of it. City
Clerk’s staff will send a confirmation request to Para Customer Service via
email. Para Customer Service will provide City Clerk’s staff with a receipt
(proof of payment for the purposes of the Participation Expense Policy) and
mail a copy of this receipt to the client (this is the Advisory Committee
member’s confirmation of the amount to be reimbursed). The Committee Coordinator will reimburse the
Advisory Committee member, at their subsequent meeting, based on the amount
of the receipt provided by Para Customer Service. Note: The
Participation Expense Policy does not reimburse Advisory Committee members
for monthly bus passes, therefore the amounts reimbursed will be solely for
any tickets and/or cash paid as “top up” when using Para Transpo for eligible
trip(s). 1.5.
Mileage for members using a personal vehicle to
attend official meetings will be eligible at the rate of $ 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 the Minutes need only contain the date, start time and
duration, location, a list of attendees and topics discussed 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 or reserve 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 |
legislative & administrative
authorities o
“Proposed
Advisory and Quasi-Judicial Committee and Task Force Structure”
(ACS2001-CRS-SEC-0016) City Council 28 March 2001 o
“Status
of External Boards, Commissions and Authorities” (ACS2001-CRS-SEC-0015) City Council 28
March 2001 o
“Status
of External Boards, Commissions and Authorities – Update” (ACS2002-CRS-SEC-0015) City Council 10
April 2002 o
“Annual
Review of Advisory Committees – Structure, Policies and Process” (ACS2002-CRS-SEC-0061) City Council 28
August 2002 o
“Council
Governance Review – 2003-2006 Council” (ACS2003-CRS-SEC-0059) City Council 3
December 2003 and 10 December 2003. o
Advisory
Committee Procedure By-law, Appointment Policy and Participation Expense
Policy Mid-Term Review – (ACS2006-CRS-SEC-0005) Council 25 January 2006. o
2006-2010
Council Governance Review – (ACS2006-CMO-OCM-0012) Council 6 December 2006 |
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 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 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 |