HomeMy WebLinkAbout(0009) M&C 21-0297City of Fort Worth, Texas
Mayor and Council Communication
DATE: 04/20/21 M&C FILE NUMBER: M&C 21-0297
LOG NAME: 12AMEND SEC 2-12 RE: COUNCIL REIMBURSEMENT
SUBJECT
(ALL) Adopt Attached Ordinance Amending Chapter 2, "Administration," of the City Code, Section 2-12, "Reimbursement of Necessary
Expenses Incurred by Members of the City Council in Performance of their Official Duties," to Eliminate an Outdated Reference and to Provide
Uniform Process for all Reimbursements
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the City Council adopt the attached ordinance amending Chapter 2, "Administration," of the City Code, Section 2-12,
"Reimbursement of Necessary Expenses Incurred by Members of the City Council in Performance of their Official Duties," to eliminate an
outdated reference to a former administrative regulation and to provide that all City Council necessary expenditures be subjected to the same
reimbursement process.
DISCUSSION:
The purpose of this Mayor and Council Communication (M&C) is to revise the City Code provision that governs reimbursement of necessary
expenses incurred by members of the City Council to eliminate an outdated reference and to update the reimbursement process to make it
consistent for all expenses.
The City Charter provides that, in addition to being entitled to specified annual compensation, the Mayor and each City Councilmember is entitled
to reimbursement by the City for "all necessary expenses incurred by the City Council in performance of their official duties." The City Council
previously enacted Section 2-12 of the City Code to govern the reimbursement process.
In its current iteration, Section 2-12, "Reimbursement of Necessary Expenses Incurred by Members of the City Council in Performance of their
Official Duties," provides that (1) certain travel expenses are subject to a now -repealed administrative regulation adopted by the City Manager and
(2) other expenses are subject to a different process outlined in the City Code provision.
The City's Financial Management Services Department undertook an overhaul of City administrative regulations (ARs) regarding reimbursements
to employees and elected officials. The goals in enacting the updated ARs were to clarify the reimbursement process, update terminology, and
ensure reimbursements were supported by sufficient documentation to reduce the likelihood of the reimbursement payments being treated as
taxable income.
As indicated above, the City Code provision currently references a prior AR, which has since been repealed. Staff is recommending Section 2-12
be amended to eliminate that outdated reference and to replace it with a more generalized reference that should not require updating as frequently.
The other aspect of the proposed amendment would subject all City Council reimbursements to the same process. Under the current provision,
only the reimbursement for out of town travel is subjected to the ARs, and all other expenses are supposed to follow a different process that is laid
out in the ordinance.
Staff proposes that the reimbursement of all City Council expenses be subjected to the AR. The goals of having all reimbursements follow the
same process are to reduce confusion and to decrease the likelihood of a mistake occurring as a result of having two different processes.
The City Council was previously briefed on the current version of the reimbursement AR, a copy of which is attached. In amending Section 2-12,
the City Council is agreeing to follow the City Manager's administrative regulations for business expense reimbursement as those regulations
currently exist or might later be amended.
By not pegging the City Code to the specific AR version that currently exists, the City Council would avoid the need to process amendments to the
City Code every time the reimbursement ARs need to be modified due to updated IRS guidance or some other factor.
A Form 1295 is not required because: This M&C does not request approval of a contract with a business entity.
FISCAL INFORMATION / CERTIFICATION:
The Director of Finance certifies that approval of this recommendation will have no material effect on City funds.
Submitted for City Manager's Office by: ALL ACMs 6222
Originating Business Unit Head: Sarah Fullenwider 7623
Additional Information Contact: Denis McElroy 2758
Expedited