City Hall report
BY KEVIN CANFIELD & BRIAN BARBER World Staff Writers
Sunday, January 06, 2013
1/06/13 at 3:11 AM
Week in review
Mayor Dewey Bartlett last week signed an executive order repealing the city's existing employee travel policy and creating a new one that includes a requirement that employees complete pre- and post-travel forms.
City employees - including police officers and firefighters - will be required to complete a travel justification form before taking a work-related trip and a post-travel report within two weeks after the training is completed.
City Manager Jim Twombly said the forms are intended to give supervisors and city councilors a better sense of how public dollars are being used on travel.
"I think the idea is that when we look at this on an annual basis during the budget process that information will be readily available," Twombly said.
City employees must submit the travel justification form to a supervisor along with their travel authorization and request for funding forms before making a work-related trip.
The new travel justification form asks employees to describe the purpose of the trip; the benefit the employee expects to gain from the trip; how the city would benefit from the employee's trip; and whether alternative training or education options are available closer to home or would not require travel.
The post-travel form asks employees to list any certificates, licenses or continuing education credits that were earned on the trip as well as the workshops or training attended.
Employees also are asked whether the trip met or exceeded the benefits outlined by the employees in their travel justification forms. Employees also are asked to explain how their new training will be used on the job and what actions the employees plan to take to follow up on what was learned on the trip.
