Title
Update to Meal Amounts of Employee Reimbursement Policy
Staff Summary
• Lake County departments are once again investing in training and continuing education for their employees, now that in-person events are occurring post-pandemic. The high inflation environment combined with other pandemic-related impacts are causing travel costs to be very high.
• The Employee Reimbursement Policy that covers business travel and reimbursement for other travel expenses was approved in 2017 and is currently being reviewed and updated by a working group led by the Finance Department.
• One aspect of the policy that can be updated without Board approval is the meal expense maximums on page 4. The current rates are $15, $15, and $30 for breakfast, lunch, and dinner respectively, for a daily total of $60. Upon review of the consumer price index and in light of the current inflationary environment, those totals will be changed to $12, $25, and $35 for breakfast, lunch, and dinner respectively, for a daily total of $72, including all taxes, tips, and other related fees.
• This change will go into effect on August 9, 2022.
• The Policy in total has other areas that have become out of date in the current environment. A new policy consistent with the new Finance Policy format will be presented at a future meeting. This full policy will be subject to Finance and Administrative Committee and County Board approval.