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ORANGE COUNTY <br />BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br />ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br />Meeting Date: February 3, 2009 <br />Action Agenda <br />Item No. <br />SUBJECT: Update Travel Policy Meal Per Diem Reimbursement Rates <br />DEPARTMENT: Finance PUBLIC HEARING: (YIN) No <br />ATTACHMENT(S): <br />Travel Policy (with Proposed Revisions <br />Shown) <br />Exhibit A — GSA Per Diem Example <br />INFORMATION CONTACT: <br />Gary Humphreys 245 -2453 <br />PURPOSE: To amend the travel policy to incorporate a process for maintaining a fair and <br />equitable per diem reimbursement rate for meals while traveling on County business. <br />BACKGROUND: The current travel policy was adopted by the Board of County <br />Commissioners in March 1997 and the amounts for meal reimbursement have not been updated <br />since that time. The authorized per diem rate for meals is $5 for breakfast, $8 for lunch and $20 <br />for dinner totaling $33 per day including taxes and tip. <br />The current travel policy includes a method for maintaining a fair and equitable rate of mileage <br />reimbursement for the use of personal vehicles on county business by allowing reimbursement <br />to be made using the prevailing Internal Revenue Service business mileage rate. Staff <br />proposes the travel policy be updated to provide a similar method for maintaining the meal per <br />diem rates at a fair and equitable level. The Internal Revenue Service provides a table of per <br />diem rates based on travel destination. Locations are assigned to one of six tiers of rates <br />ranging from $36 to $61 per day for meals only. These rates are maintained by the General <br />Services Administration (GSA) and updated at least annually. <br />The use of the GSA tables as a method to maintain updated rates was discussed with <br />department directors to obtain their input. It was the consensus of the group to adopt tier two of <br />the GSA rates for all in state travel and to use the GSA rate for the actual location of travel for <br />out of state travel. This would maintain simplicity for the majority of trips and still allow for fair <br />reimbursement at out of state locations which are generally at a higher cost. <br />Therefore staff proposes the County adopt the second tier of GSA rates which are currently $8 <br />for breakfast, $12 for lunch, and $21 for dinner totaling $41 per day for meals (including taxes <br />and tip) for in state travel and the GSA rate based on the actual primary destination of travel be <br />used for out of state travel. The rates will be updated whenever the GSA rates are modified. A <br />