|
Ottawa Centre Council Minutes | |
Background
The RASC Ottawa Centre has three representatives on National Council. It is in our best interests to encourage our representatives to participate in these meetings since this is when RASC operations are under detailed review. The RASC is providing teleconference capability at the Council Meetings however; it is the experience of the author of this policy, that a presence at these meetings is desirable since discussions continue outside the meetings during lunch and at gatherings after the formal meeting.
There are four meetings of National Council in a calendar year: a late winter meeting, two meetings at the General Assembly (GA) and a late autumn meeting. The two non-GA meetings are usually held in Toronto though there have been meetings in other cities (London and Montreal).
The RASC encourages the attendance of National Representatives with the teleconference facility and with a travel policy that partially compensates Representatives for their travel expenses. The level of this support is current 100% for one meeting, 75% for the second meeting and 50% for the third meeting. The Two Council Meetings at the GA are combined for the purpose of their travel policy. The new RASC Travel policy for 2006 will have reduced support (75%, 50% and 25%, respectively).
The Centre Representatives have several responsibilities. They should solicit and inform the National Council of the Ottawa Centre's opinions on items that come before the Meeting. Their vote on motions should reflect Ottawa's position on these motions. They should also report to the Ottawa Council all discussions that occurred at the National Council Meeting that would be of interest to the Ottawa Council. They should also report to the Ottawa Centre Membership on matters that would be of interest to the membership. These Reports to the Membership may be made as an article in AstroNotes and if possible at Centre Meetings.
The return travel time between Ottawa and Toronto is about ten hours and the meeting lasts for about seven hours. Therefore our Representatives are devoting seventeen hours of their time for each meeting. They should also contribute several hours during the week before each meeting reviewing the numerous committee reports before the meeting and discussing their content at Ottawa Council Meetings when possible.
We feel it is reasonable for the Centre to support the contributions of their Centre Representatives by minimizing their personal expenses that exceed the support provided by the National Office.
Preamble
For the RASC Ottawa Centre to encourage Representatives to attend National Council meetings, we propose that the Centre compensate their Centre Representatives for the balance of their travel expenses that are not covered by the National Office. The estimated expense for each representative at each "non-GA" meeting is estimated to be about $250 (the approximate cost of return train fare at the 10-day discount rate, minimal food and the cost of a shared accommodation for two nights of approximately $50 per night per person). Actual costs are usually lower as Representatives visit friends or relatives and double-up the trip with family vacations. Also, the RASC allows attendance by teleconference at no charge to the Representative or Centre. Teleconference attendance is practical but is not as productive as face-to-face meetings before and after Council deliberations.
Using the current RASC Travel policy for two Representatives:
The current National Travel Policy allows the Representative to specify the order of the meetings for which reimbursement is requested and hence, the percentage of reimbursement.
The General Assembly (GA) has two Council meetings. The cost of attending a GA is much greater than the Toronto based Council Meetings but effort is greater as well. The greater amount of preparation work and the meeting schedules interfere with many of the GA activities.
To limit the Centre's financal liability, the Centre Council should adopt some of the restrictions to GA reimbursement that are used by the National Office. These have been itemized in the Proposed Ottawa Centre Travel Policy below.
Without limiting the GA travel for our Representatives, the Ottawa Centre may find itself with very high travel costs. The National Travel Policy limits reimbursement to only two Centre Representatives per meeting. The Ottawa Centre Council should adopt this policy and approve in advance which Centre Representatives will be reimbursed for each National Council Meeting and attempt to equalize the support among Representatives over the course of a year.
The Ottawa Centre Council should specify the level of reimbursement for Representatives from National Office. A high level of National Office reimbursement for the non-GA meetings will result in the Centre providing reimbursement for the more expensive Representative travel to GA meetings. It is in the Centre's best interest to support Representative travel to the non-GA meetings. This will limit the financial liability of the Ottawa Centre in this Travel Policy.
These points are raised as "common sense" and should not have to be written into the Centre Travel Policy.
The Policy
The Ottawa Centre encourages its Representatives to National Council to attend National Council Meetings and provides partial reimbursement for travel to these meetings according to the policies below.
1. Eligibility and Restrictions
The Ottawa Centre Representatives, or preauthorized alternate Representatives, are eligible for reimbursement of expenses associated with travel to National Council Meetings including meetings at the General Assembly (GA).
No more than two Representatives shall be reimbursed for travel to any given meeting. The Centre Executive shall identify representatives eligible for travel reimbursement at least two weeks before the non-GA Council Meetings and one month before meetings at the GA. Centre Representatives approved for travel reimbursement shall be eligible for reimbursement for up to three trips in a calendar year. The amount of reimbursement for each trip is based on the balance of travel costs identified in the National Travel Policy but are not covered in the National Travel Policy.
2. Expenses Eligible for Reimbursement
The total amount eligible for reimbursement (to which the percentages in section 1 are applied) is the sum of eligible travel and accommodation expenses. Travel expenses for transportation eligible for reimbursement are as follows:
There is no accommodation allowance if the trip is less than 100 km. For greater distances, an accommodation allowance of $50 per night (shared accommodations) for up to two nights for travel to a non-GA Council meeting, and $50 per night for up to three nights for travel to a GA, is claimable. Billeting is encouraged, when possible, to avoid incurring these costs
3. Application Procedure
Applicants should submit claims for reimbursement to the Centre Treasurer within four weeks of completion of travel. A completed application consists of a letter requesting reimbursement and receipts to support the request. The percentage of reimbursement shall be as determined before the travel had occurred.
The Treasurer shall be responsible for the determination of travel reimbursements in accordance with the guidelines above. In exceptional circumstances, the Centre Executive Committee may approve a travel reimbursement claim that falls outside these guidelines.
 |
 |
 |
This page last modified: July 21, 2005 |