09. Reimbursement for Mealsp. +1so
L I1 O a
Incorporated 1892
Telephone (406) 758-7700 Douglas Rauthe
FAX (406) 758-7758 Mayor
Post Office Box 1997
Kalispell, Montana Al Thelen
Zip 59903-1997 Interim City Manager
Date: April 18, 1996 City Council
Members:
To\:- Mayor and City Council Gary W. Nystul
Ward I
From: Al Thelen, Interim City Manager(Y Cliff Collins
Re: Interim City Manager's Memo of March 29, 1996 (copy Ward
attached) Norbert F. Donahue
Ward 11
Dale Haarr
A majority of the Council members expressed to me some concerns Ward11
Jim Atkinson
about the City's practice of reimbursing City employees for Ward III
meals and asked me to look into -the current practice. Wardd IIGranmo
Pamela B. Kennedy
Ward IV
I made some inquiries about the practice and then discussed it M. Duane Larson
Ward IV
at a meeting of the Department Heads. Apparently this practice
was the result of approvals over a period of time and unrelated
to a specific action.
I advised the Department Heads that some members of the Council
were irritated about this issue and others had not expressed any
concern. I told them that I was uncomfortable with the practice
of the reimbursement of payment of meals in the City because it
was not a general practice. They expressed some surprise about
the Council's concern about this issue. After some discussion
it was decided to discuss the subject again after the Department
Heads had an opportunity to discuss it with some of their
employees.
E
In a subsequent meeting we discussed the issue again and all of
the Department Heads were supportive of eliminating this
practice. At the second meeting I indicated that the
Administrative Code was silent on the issue of the reimbursement
for meals in the City of Kalispell but that a City ordinance
authorized meals only when an employee was in "travel" status as
defined by State law which requires the employee to be in travel
status for three hours before a meal would be reimbursed. After
the second meeting, I issued the March 29th memo.
While some Council members expressed some concern about this
issue as it relates to the elected officials, I was quick to
point out that this was an issue for the City Council to
resolve, not me and not the new city manager. The memo was
written to the Department Heads and applies to all of their
employees.
Interoff lee
TO: City Department Heads
FROM: Al Thelen, Interim City Manager
DATE: March 29, 1996
RE.: Reimbursement for Meals Within the City of Kalispell
Reference is made to our discussion of this item at staff meetings.
My interpretation of our current administrative regulations is that
reimbursement for meals while attending meetings within the City of
Kalispell is not authorized. Effective this date, March 28, such
reimbursement to you and/or the employees in your department will
not be made. Your cooperation with this change is appreciated.
p.c.: Mayor and Council