Thursday, July 01, 2010
 
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City briefs 2: personal computer use and travel expenses

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[July 01, 2010]  Tuesday evening there was a great deal to be discussed at the committee-of-the-whole meeting of the Lincoln City Council.

HardwareIn addition to hearing from a Comcast representative during a building and grounds committee meeting, and from John Fisher of Blissful Enterprise, Dustin Fulton was present to speak about Together for Lincoln, and an ongoing discussion of the city's policy and procedures manual resumed from the week prior.

All 10 members of the council were present for the meeting.

Policy on personal use of computers

Alderwoman Melody Anderson chairs the policy and procedures committee for the city of Lincoln. She has been working on a revision of the city's policy and procedures since last fall. When she began the project she said that she wanted to develop a manual that could be updated progressively as the need arose.

She noted that many of the policies in the manual were not in keeping with modern times.

At a committee meeting June 21, the discussion focused on controlling the use of city computers and Internet for personal interests.

This topic brought mixed feelings from the aldermen. The policy and procedures manual applies to nonunion workers and union workers only if their collective bargaining agreement does not address the specific issue.

As the group discussed the use of the Internet for Web browsing, e-mail, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and other such social sites, one view was that all such use should be strictly prohibited, with disciplinary action possible for violators.

On the other hand, it was brought up that the fire department assistant chiefs who are not union members are in-house at the fire station 24 hours at a time, and that during their downtime in the station, they should be allowed to e-mail or visit social websites as a means of communicating with family and friends.

Aldermen Tom O'Donohue and David Wilmert agreed that in many workplaces, some personal use of Internet allowed.

Library

The mayor read a policy Alderman Jeff Hoinacki provided that is being used in Pensacola, Fla. Snyder read the policy, which said that it was acceptable for employees to use the computer or Internet in brief intervals for personal use. The policy also said that the city-owned computer was not to be used for personal gain, such as an Internet business.

Alderwoman Stacy Bacon said that she was not in favor of any personal use of computers. She cited that at the prison where she works, the employees are not allowed to have Internet and the computers are locked so that employees cannot download personal programs or play games.

O'Donohue said he was much more inclined to support the policy Snyder had read aloud, and Hoinacki said he thought that the policy could be left somewhat open. Anderson agreed that she too felt the inclination to be a little more flexible.

Policy for travel expense discussed

At this week's meeting Anderson moved on to the question of travel expenses.

Currently the policy and procedures manual sets no limits for food expenses during out-of-town travel.

She said that she had a copy of a state reimbursement chart that had been provided to her by Hoinacki.

Anderson said she didn't know what the council wanted to do, if they wanted some specific amounts or generalized statements.

Alderwoman Marty Neitzel said that she would suggest leaving it at $100 per day for out-of-town travel meal expense. This is a figure that had been mentioned at previous meetings.

Alderman Buzz Busby said he thought there needed to be an exception for the mayor and city clerk. He said specifically that the mayor might need to purchase lunch for someone, and he needed to have the ability to do that. Busby said that the wording for the mayor and clerk should be "at their discretion according to their budget."

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During the discussion there were mixed emotions as to whether $100 per day was enough or too much. Some felt that even on a trip to Chicago, if the traveler was conservative, they could eat on a lot less than $100 a day.

However, on the other end of the scale, there were those who thought that three meals in Chicago for that amount or less would simply not be possible.

Again it was mentioned that this policy was for nonunion employees and union workers whose collective bargaining agreement does not cover the policy. Fire Chief Kent Hulett then said that the firefighters had no policy in their union agreement, but that they observe a limit of $30 per day. He said this has also been an issue on occasion, so he is looking forward to a policy that will provide some guidance in the matter.

Chuck Conzo, newly appointed city treasurer, was in attendance and took the podium to briefly explain how the state of Illinois reimburses for meals, based on quarters of the day when the employee is traveling.

There was also discussion about establishing a per diem, which the council appeared not to be in favor of. The problem with per diem is that it must be counted as income for the traveler and is taxable. The travelers then have to maintain their own records and deduct travel expense from their annual tax returns.

At one point Conzo said that breakfast allowance on a trip to Chicago was $5.50. Busby said afterward that he would guarantee it was impossible to eat a breakfast in Chicago on that amount of money.

Neitzel maintained that it should be a set amount with a qualification of "not to exceed." Others agreed that if the amount was set and the language used, then the traveler would be forewarned that there would be no reimbursement for the amount exceeding their budget.

Conzo also suggested that if there was a set amount, it could be reduced when a meal is provided at the meeting. He said that sometimes a meal is provided but someone will choose to eat out, and it could be stipulated that if they do so, they do it at their own expense.

Alderman Tom O'Donohue said that he felt like the only way to do it is to pick a number, then stick to it. As the council discussed that, they kept coming back to the $100 per day and a discussion as to whether or not that was enough.

Nursing Homes

Alderwoman Joni Tibbs spoke out, saying that while there are plenty of expensive places to eat in Chicago, her experience is that when there, she has found a number of inexpensive little restaurants.

O'Donohue said that speaking from experience, he can eat a large lunch on less than $15. Several did not agree, but he contended that he has done it many a time because it was the limit his employer set on the meal.

Alderman David Wilmert asked if the group was able to pick a number so that they could move on to another subject. Anderson said that instead of picking a number immediately, she would like for everyone to go home and think about what the number should be and e-mail her.

She added that once she had heard from everyone, she'd try to figure out an average and bring a figure to the next meeting.

[By NILA SMITH]

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