SUBJECT
Border City Designation
PURPOSE
K.A.R. 1-16-18(a)(3) authorizes travel to cities or areas outside the borders of the State
of Kansas which have been designated as "border cities", at in-state subsistence
rates for meals and lodging. This filing:
- establishes procedures for state agencies to request a city or an
area be designated as a "border city"; and
- establishes procedures for state agencies to request that an approved "border city"
be designated as a "high cost border city."
A complete list of approved "border cities"
and reimbursement rates is provided in Appendix A of the Employee Travel Expense Reimbursement
Handbook (http://www.da.ks.gov/ar/employee/travel/travbkSMART11.htm).
AUTHORITATIVE REFERENCES
K.S.A. 75-3208
K.A.R. 1-16-18 et seq.
GENERAL INFORMATION
Subject to the approval of the Secretary of Administration, the Director of Accounts and Reports may designate any city in a state bordering or near Kansas as a border city, except those areas designated as “High Cost Geographic Areas” in K.A.R. 1-16-18a. A complete list of approved “border cities” and reimbursement rates is provided in Appendix A of the Employee Travel Expense Reimbursement Handbook.
The head of an agency may permit employees required to travel to these border cities to claim meal and lodging expense reimbursement at in-state rates. Travel to border cities does not require prior written approval of the agency head or designee as required for out-of-state travel by K.S.A. 75-3208 and paragraph 2101 of the Employee Travel Expense Reimbursement Handbook.
An agency may request the Director of Accounts and Reports to designate a city or an area as a border city. An agency may also request the Director to designate an approved border city as a high cost border city. The procedures for making these requests are noted in the following section.
PROCEDURES
| Responsibility |
Action Step |
Agency
|
- Determines that travel to out-of-state city or area is desired under
the border city rule.
- Ensures that the city or area is
not approved as a border city in PPM filing 3,903, Appendix A of the
Employee Travel Expense Reimbursement Handbook, or is not a high cost
geographic area in Appendix B of the Employee Travel Expense Reimbursement
Handbook.
- Prepares and sends a letter to the Director of Accounts and Reports
requesting that the city or area be designated as a border city. The
letter should specify if the border city should be designated as high
cost.
|
| Accounts and Reports |
- Reviews the request, performs a subsistence cost study of
the city or area, and forwards an approval/disapproval recommendation
to the Secretary of Administration.
|
| Secretary of Administration |
- Approves or disapproves the border city or high cost border
city designation request.
|
| Accounts and Reports |
- Notifies the agency of approval or disapproval of border
city designation request. If the request is approved, an Informational
Circular is sent to all state agencies.
|
| Agency |
- If the request is approved, the head of the agency may authorize
the travel under the border city rule.
- "Border city travel" should be noted in the comments section of the SMART
Travel Expense report
- If the request is disapproved, the
travel must be approved under the out-of-state travel procedures in
paragraph 2101 of the Employee Travel Expense Reimbursement Handbook.
|
CONTACT SOURCES
Questions concerning border city designation should be directed to:
Division of Accounts and Reports
Administrative Operations Section
