Mohave County updates personnel policies to align with IRS rules on travel and vehicle use

Mohave County on Dec. 1 approved revisions to personnel policies that clarify county preferences for travel payments, align vehicle and single-day travel reimbursements with IRS guidance and set formal thresholds for county-funded food and beverage purchases.

Director Mornian told the board the changes included mostly grammatical edits and a few substantive clarifications: county P-cards are the preferred payment method for reimbursable travel expenses; single-day travel reimbursements (non-overnight) will be treated as taxable fringe benefits and included in gross wages beginning Jan. 1 to comply with IRS guidance; assigned vehicle rules were clarified to calculate taxable personal use by commuting-valuation or cents-per-mile methods for certain 'control employees'; and purchase-of-food-and-beverage rules (section 6.7) now tie dollar thresholds to GSA per-diem amounts with department-head approval required for nonroutine events.

Mornian said the county currently charges $1.50 each way for commuting valuation on authorized vehicle commuting and will switch to cents-per-mile valuation for IRS-defined control employees, implemented Jan. 1. On meals, the policy is intended to allow limited purchases for special events (dignitary visits, groundbreakings, multi-agency training) and requires preapproval by a department head or elected official.

Supervisor Lettman asked whether the IRS permits different mileage rates for EVs or hybrids; staff said they will research potential regulatory or administrative constraints and report back. Supervisors asked about employee notification; staff said change logs and FAQs will be distributed to management teams for departmental communication.

The board approved the recommended personnel-policy edits and clarifications by voice vote.