 |
City of St. Louis Department of Personnel Administrative Regulation NO. 126 |
The City of St. Louis Administrative Regulations have been converted to electronic format by the staff of the St. Louis Public Library. This electronic version has been done for the interest and convenience of the user. These are unofficial versions and should be used as unofficial copies.
Official printed copies of the City of St. Louis Administrative Regulations may be obtained from the Personnel Office at 1114 Market Street, Room 703, St. Louis, Missouri 63101.
Relocation and Moving Expenses
To fill vacancies in some of the more specialized professional and technical job classes in the City service, it may be necessary to recruit on a regional or national basis. It can be prohibitively costly to relocate to the City without a portion of the expenses being reimbursed by the City; therefore, some funds are earmarked in the Department of Personnel budget for executive recruitment which includes relocation expenses. Because the amount of money is not always adequate, it may be necessary to ask operating departments to obligate funds from their budgets to pay the relocation expenses of individuals that they are hiring. To standardize the application of the relocation expense reimbursement process in the City, these guidelines covering eligibility, type, and amount of relocation expense which can be reimbursed are issued.
1. The decision concerning whether to pay relocation expenses should be made prior to the oral interview phase of the examination. As soon as it becomes clear that it may be necessary to defray relocation expenses in order to attract clearly exceptional candidate(s), appointing authorities should immediately contact the Department of Personnel.
2. A decision will be made as to whether the Department of Personnel can help pay relocation expenses based on a) difference in qualifications between the out-of-town applicant(s) and the local applicant(s), b) an evaluation of how critical the need is for the services of that particular job class, and c) the funding level in the executive recruitment account at that time.
3. If not enough funds remain in the account, the operating department will be asked to transfer money to the Executive Recruitment account of the Department of Personnel. If not, no relocation expense will be paid that individual.
4. No promises of relocation expense can be made without the prior approval of the Director of Personnel.
Allowable Relocation Expenses
1. The City of St. Louis Travel Regulations set forth by the Board of Estimate and Apportionment will govern travel expenses required in the process of relocating to St. Louis. All travel expenses must be estimated by the candidate and approved in advance by the Department of Personnel.
2. In general, travel expenses required for just one trip to St. Louis to seek suitable housing will be reimbursable to the selected candidate.
3. Travel by private automobile is reimbursed at the rate approved by the Comptroller. Travel by air is reimbursed at the coach rate. Travelers will be asked to check for the lowest rates possible. Reimbursement for food will be equivalent to the City’s rate as established by the Comptroller. Travelers coming to St. Louis will be asked to stay at a moderately priced hotel and to ask for the government rate. They will be asked to use taxi service if they anticipate local transportation costs to be less than $50. Otherwise they will be encouraged to rent a car.
4. Prospective employees will be encouraged to keep moving firm expenses to a minimum, as this is normally the biggest item involved in relocation. The Department of Personnel will require the employee to submit two written estimates. Depending on the amount of funds available for disbursement and the amount of relocation expense involved, the City may only reimburse a percentage of the moving firm expense. The employee is free to seek out a more expensive firm and pay the difference themselves. The maximum amount of relocation expense that would be allowable for a single individual or family moving a distance of 0-500 miles is $8,000; for distances over 500 miles the maximum would be raised to $12,000.
Request for Reimbursement/Payment
1. Request for reimbursement of, or payment for, expenses related to employee relocation must be submitted to the Department of Personnel for review and recommendation to the Comptroller’s Office.
A. In order for reimbursement to an individual to be approved by the Comptroller’s Office, expenses must be recorded on the "Other Compensation" form and appropriate receipts must be attached. The Department of Personnel will forward the form and receipts to the Comptroller’s Office.
B. In order for direct payment to a service provider to be approved expenses must be recorded on a voucher and appropriate receipts must be attached.
The Department of Personnel will forward the vouchers and receipts to the Comptroller’s Office and a copy of the voucher with pertinent employee information to the Payroll Section of the Comptroller’s Office.
Other Suggestions for Successful Relocation
The Department of Personnel needs your help in recruiting and relocating top level personnel. We should aim to make people happy over the long run by providing them with accurate information concerning the quality of life that they would expect. In the long run, straightforward answers will help control the total cost of relocation and recruitment costs.
Questions regarding this Administrative Regulation should be referred to the Personnel Services Section of the Department of Personnel at 622-3251.
DEPARTMENT OF PERSONNEL
William C. Duffe
Director
Revised: December 31, 2001
Effective: January 2, 2002
Back to the Index to Administrative Regulations