Travel policy changes could be coming to McHenry County, including per diem, limits on tip reimbursements

McHenry County is eyeing changes to its employee travel and business expense policy.

County officials said among the proposed changes is moving meal reimbursements to a per diem model. The new policy is still a draft, so different changes could be included in the final version. According to county documents, the travel policy was last updated in 2016.

Currently, employees need to provide receipts for reimbursement, while the proposed per diem would eliminate that requirement. McHenry County Auditor Shannon Teresi said the per diem model “treats our staff like professionals.”

County officials also stressed that employees won’t be reimbursed if they pay for things with credit card points or frequent flier miles. “They’re basically making a donation if they choose to use that gift card,” Teresi said.

Another potential change is making a mapping required instead of accepting odometer readings. Teresi said that requirement “wouldn’t be much of a change,” and it’s difficult to vet odometer readings for accuracy.

Officials noted the policy can have flexibility, such as if someone takes a quicker route to Springfield but it’s more miles, the county will reimburse the extra mileage. “It’s very difficult to do a one-size-fits-all policy,” County administrator Peter Austin said, adding there were some parts of the new policy as drafted that he didn’t agree with.

Chief Deputy Auditor Stephanie Etten alluded to, but didn’t detail, specific incidents factoring into the changes, saying if something is more rigid in the policy, it can help crack down on abuses of it. “Maybe it was a gray area or it wasn’t addressed specifically in the prior policy and it seems like it was getting taken advantage of,” Etten said.

The county’s per diem rate will be $59, which is the rate set by the General Services Administration for Illinois outside of Cook, Lake, DuPage, Will and St. Clair counties, according to its website. Perhaps in a nod to today’s tipping culture, the county also clarified that tips at fast-food joints and coffee shops where people order at a counter would not be reimbursable.

The draft policy will need to go before the finance committee before going to the McHenry County Board for final approval. Teresi said she is planning to send out the policy to the county board to review and give feedback before they vote on it and she expects the finance committee to vote on the final draft in April.