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Personnel committee approves updates to travel, per diem, vaping and phone-use policies
Summary
The committee approved multiple revisions to the employee policy manual: streamlining approval for budgeted out-of-state travel to department heads, linking per diems to the federal GSA schedule, prorating lump-sum payments for part-time employees, adding vaping to the tobacco policy, and updating phone-use language.
The City of Manitowoc Personnel Committee approved several edits to the employee policy manual intended to streamline travel approvals and update technology and tobacco rules.
Staff (Jesse) told the committee the changes would allow budgeted out-of-state travel to be approved by the relevant department head rather than coming to an oversight committee, while non-budgeted out-of-state travel would still require committee review. "We are looking to change the process so that employees who are traveling out of state on a budgeted trip, that those just go to be approved by the department head," Jesse said. Committee members said budgeted trips have rarely, if ever, been disapproved and that the change would speed administrative handling.
The committee also agreed to replace fixed per-diem dollar amounts with a reference to the federal General Services Administration (GSA) per-diem website so reimbursements adjust by destination and time. "It updates as it updates. Obviously, each department has its own meal budget," Jesse said, describing the intent to align reimbursements with GSA rates.
Other changes approved include incorporating previously approved language to prorate lump-sum payments for part-time employees (Article 14), adding vaping to the tobacco policy (Article 20), and updating cell-phone and phone-usage language to reference the city's acceptable use policy.
Action: Motion by Alder Oliver Cummings, seconded by Alder Albert Beaman, to approve the employee policy manual language update (item 25-0483). Outcome: approved (voice vote). The committee noted the item will be treated as nonconsent because it represents policy change.
Why it matters: The edits aim to reduce administrative steps for routine, budgeted travel and to align reimbursements across destinations via federal per-diem rates; they also update workplace rules on vaping and device usage.
