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Town of Port Hawkesbury
Municipal Travel Expense Policy
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TOWN OF PORT HAWKESBURY
MUNICIPAL TRAVEL EXPENSE POLICY
GENERAL STATEMENT OF POLICY
The Town of Port Hawkesbury wishes to establish and maintain an orderly system for the
administration and control of Council and Employee Travel and Expense.
Objective
To ensure uniform standards and procedures respecting Council and Employee Travel and
Expense Claims.
GENERAL STATEMENTS OF RESPONSIBILITY AND PROCEDURE
Responsibilities
I. Town Council's Responsibilities
The Town Council will:
(1) approve any changes in the amount provided or manner in which it is disbursed
II. Chief Administrative Officer's Responsibilities
The Chief Administrative Officer will:
(1) administer the policy and procedures as outlined; and
(2) recommend to Council, for consideration, any changes in the amount provided
or manner in which it is disbursed
Travel Expense Claims Policy and Procedures
1.1 General
i.
All Municipal travel for which an expense claim will be submitted must be approved
at the appropriate level.
ii.
Expenses will be provided to Council Members, employees, and bonafide
representatives, who attend meetings, seminars, conferences, training sessions, etc.,
as representatives of the Town.
iii.
All requests for travel by members of the Council shall be reviewed by the CAO,
who shall consider the necessity for travel on the basis of information provided on
the claim form under the title "Purpose of Travel". The Council shall, where possible,
Town of Port Hawkesbury
Municipal Travel Expense Policy
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be advised of who is travelling.
iv.
When two or more requests are made by Councillors for the same purpose, the CAO
in discussion with the Mayor shall then determine the appropriate number of
persons necessary to represent the Town.
v.
All requests for travel by the CAO shall be reviewed by the Mayor, who shall follow
the same guidelines established for Council Members, as contained in section (iii)
above.
vi.
All requests for travel by employees shall be reviewed by the Chief Administrative
Officer or appropriate supervisory Director or Manager, who shall follow the same
guidelines established for Council Members, as contained in section (iii) above.
vii.
The Town of Port Hawkesbury is not responsible for the cost of travel, lodging,
meals, registration, etc., of spouses when they are accompanying the elected or
appointed officials to meetings, seminars, conferences, training sessions, etc. unless
specifically authorized by Council.
viii.
Travel must have a justifiable Town of Port Hawkesbury purpose in order to be
reimbursed. The person authorizing the travel will determine if the intended
purpose is a valuable investment for the Town of Port Hawkesbury. All travel should
be discussed with the signing authority in advance of travel to guarantee
reimbursement.
ix.
It is expected that when attending a conference, in order to be eligible for
reimbursement of expenses, 80% of the conference sessions be attended. If this is
not possible, it should be discussed with the signing authority in advance of
attendance.
x.
Where attending a conference or a meeting where there is agenda material, the
agenda must be attached to the claim form. Where there is travel for the purpose
of meetings or appointments where there is no agenda material, the following
details must accompany the claim form in the Written Travel Report:
a. Date of meeting
b. Place of meeting
c. Start and end time of meeting
d. Persons present at the meeting
e. Brief statement of discussions held
xi.
Travel claims are to be completed by the Claimant.
1.2 Rates
i. Claimable travel shall be paid in accordance with rates established by the Council.
(Schedule 'A' attached)
ii. A current schedule of rates should be appended to the Policy at all times.
1.3 Disbursements
i. Payment shall be made upon presentation of a completed travel expense form
(Schedule 'B' attached).
ii. The travel expense form shall provide the following information:
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Municipal Travel Expense Policy
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a) Destination (City & Province)
b) Purpose of travel
c) Date and time of departure and return
d) Claimable costs
e) Declaration (to be signed upon trip return)
f) Brief written travel report or copy of event agenda
iii. The Mayor must approve the CAO's completed travel claim form. The CAO must
approve Mayor and Council's completed travel claim form.
iv. All other staff completed claim forms must be approved by the appropriate
supervisory Director or Manager.
v. To be eligible for payment, travel expense forms must be presented for approval
not later than 30 days after return.
vi. Any adjustments noted after claim form has been approved and paid will be
indicated on the travel claim form and initialed by the claimant. Any payment for
adjustments of an over/underpayment will be reconciled on a subsequent travel
claim.
Hospitality Expense Claims Policy and Procedures
1.4 General
i.
Hospitality expenses are eligible for authorization and reimbursement when incurred for
the following circumstances:
A. Hosting foreign dignitaries;
B. Engaging in official public matters with representatives from other governments
or business, industry, labour, or other community leaders;
C. Sponsoring or hosting conferences;
D. Hosting ceremonies or other recognition events; and,
E. Other official functions.
ii. Hospitality Expenses include, meals, beverages (including alcoholic beverages in the
case of the Mayor and CAO), gratuities, set up and tear down fees, location rentals,
equipment rentals, entertainment costs, gifts and additional costs as required.
iii. For employees, only those at the Director level and above are eligible to claim
hospitality expenses where it is a functional responsibility of the employee's position to
provide hospitality in the conduct of municipal business.
iv. Hospitality expenses require pre-approval from the CAO
v. Hospitality Expenses are subject to legislated disclosure requirements.
1.5 Report
i.
On a monthly basis, the Mayor, Council, and CAO shall present the Council with a
written travel report for all trips they are involved in, outlining the nature of each
meeting, cost of travel, and a brief statement of discussions held.
ii.
All other trips shall be reported by the claimant in the manner provided in 1.3 (ii).
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Municipal Travel Expense Policy
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1.6 Effective Date
i.
This Policy shall take effect from the 3rd day of October, 2023.
1.7 Previous Travel Expense Claim Policy
i.
The previous policy approved Feb 2, 2016 is repealed.
Policy Review Notification:
June 6, 2023 _____________________
Policy Review Date:
June 20, 2023____________________
Approved by Council:
November 21, 2023________________
I certify this to be a true copy of the Municipal Travel Expense Policy as adopted by the
Town Council of Port Hawkesbury at a Public Meeting held XXXXX, 2023.
_________________________________________________________________
Terry Doyle, P. Eng.
Chief Administrative Officer