Reimbursements

Reimbursement Motions

MOTION 1403:02: Commissioner Shurtleff made a motion to do away with reimbursements for Basic Training for the parole and probation officers. Commissioner Schlechter seconded the motion and it was passed by a unanimous voice vote.

MOTION 1301:03: Commissioner Yarnell made a motion that the Commission no longer reimburse travel expenses for those attending the train-the-trainers. Commissioner Schlechter seconded the motion and it was passed by a unanimous voice vote.

Instructions for Instructors

If an instructor is planning to help with a Commission run Basic Training Academy and plan on spending the night, or simply seeking reimbursements for gas or meals a BCPO – 3310 form must be filled out prior to the event taking place so reimbursements can be properly distributed. The BCPO – 3310 form is simply a form that provides you with an employee number so the commonwealth can successfully reimburse you. The form only has to be filled out on your first trip, any time after that your information is already on file.

If an instructor is planning to spend the night at a hotel through the Commission, you will be provided with a REV-1220 tax exemption form ahead of time. When checking into the hotel you must provide them with the REV-1220 tax exemption form. If not it could cause problems, which include but are not limited to, paying out of pocket by the instructor.

When an instructor is checking out of the hotel they must first check their receipt and make sure the last four digits of the lodging card is on the receipt. If not, it will delay the reimbursement process since it can take a while to access the proper receipts. Always hand in your hotel receipt with the lodging card number on it since it is needed for the reimbursement process.

When assisting with a Commission run Basic Training Academy, each instructor has the option to use a rental car provided by FETC. If that’s the case, they will be reimbursed for the gasoline placed into the rental car as long as a receipt is provided. If not, then a travel form will be filled out and if it shows that is cheaper to have a rental car over the standard gas rate (.52 per mile) you will be issued the “other car available rate” (.17 per mile) per state policy. (As of 2017)

Be advised, when traveling and seeking mileage reimbursement you will only be reimbursed for the shortest distance of the trip based off of Google Maps distance map. For example, if the route you take is 125 miles, but a different route would have you travel 100 miles, you will be reimbursed for the route that was 100 miles.

When collecting receipts for food an instructor should make sure each receipt is itemized. If it is not an itemized receipt one should be requested and if the restaurant still can’t provide one a missing receipt form will eventually have to be filled out. Instructors should be advised that it will further delay the reimbursement process. It is highly recommended to have each receipt itemized before handing them in. If you can’t gain an itemized receipt no matter what, please write down what you had so that the missing receipt form can be already filled out upon returning it for your signature.  FETC recommends that you check the date and time on each receipt to make sure they are accurate. Mistakes happen and FETC would not like an instructor to have to deal with the result of a wrong receipt.

Instructors can also only pay for their own meal. If a second meal is placed on a single receipt it will not be reimbursed. If an appetizer is ordered for the table it will be split on the bill and you will only get reimbursed for your portion.  Also, alcohol is not reimbursed. If it is on the bill it will delay the reimbursement process since it will have to be redacted from the bill and the new tax will have to be calculated. Also, tips may not exceed 20%. If they do they will have to be altered to read 20% and you will not be reimbursed the difference.

A travel form will be provided to instructors prior to their trip and should be filled out and returned with the rest of the receipts. On that travel form is a place where the instructor writes down when they started their trip. That time dictates the reimbursement day. For example, say the instructor left for their hotel on August 2nd at 5pm. Their trip would then start at that exact time as well as their reimbursement clock. The reimbursement clock day would run from 5pm – 5 pm. So receipts that read August 3rd at 1:20pm would be placed on the August 2nd day. If a receipt would read August 3rd 7:10pm it would be placed on the August 3rd day.

For meal reimbursement rates, each town and city in Pennsylvania is given different rates that change through the year. Some place an instructor travels to could be up to 40 per day and another place could be up to 64 per day. If you go over your rate for a day you will not be reimbursed the amount you went over. For example, if the per diem rate is 40 per day and an instructor ends up spending 46 on that day, they won’t be reimbursed that extra 6 dollars. If you would like to know the rate prior to the travel date please contact FETC.

When waiting for reimbursement, please remember that FETC is just the first step when it comes to the process. On average, it takes around a month to a month and a half to travel all through the proper channels. If you ever have a question don’t hesitate to contact FETC and they will be glad to help.

For other references, please refer to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Travel Policy (pdf) or the Commonwealth Travel Procedures Manual (pdf).