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Dickenson County alters travel-authorization flow, updates per diem rates
Summary
The Board approved changes to the county travel policy to return travel authorization signatures to department heads for budgeted travel, update per-diem references to fiscal year 26 GSA rates, and require board approval for travel expenses exceeding department budgets.
The Dickenson County Board of Supervisors approved an amendment to the county travel policy that changes who signs travel authorizations, updates per-diem references and clarifies when travel requires board-level approval.
Under the amended policy, employees will submit travel authorization forms to their department head for signature; constitutional officers will continue to sign as their own department head. Travel that is within a department's annual budget no longer requires the county administrator's signature, reducing administrative routing. Travel outside a department's annual budget must be presented to the board for an allocation of additional funds; the board said the administrator can note but not unilaterally approve over-budget requests.
The policy update also modernizes references to per-diem rates by updating the fiscal-year reference to FY26 and linking to the General Services Administration (GSA) rate page. The board additionally clarified that board members must complete a travel authorization form for board travel and submit it to the county administrator; travel outside the board's annual travel budget must be approved by the board.
Why it matters: the change streamlines internal approvals for budgeted travel and clarifies when board action is required for additional travel funding.
Board action: a motion to adopt the travel-policy amendment was made, seconded and approved by the board.
Provenance: the travel-policy amendment was introduced as the revised item formerly labeled on the agenda; the board discussed scope, departmental budget authority and signature routing before approving the amendment.
