West Windsor Council has directed two of its members to draft a policy to address reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses that will specifically apply to the council — but not the mayor or other township employees.
Council on September 29 came to the consensus that the first step in the process was to create a reimbursement policy for itself, and that putting a formal policy into place would be a good idea.
Council President George Borek suggested that Councilman Charles Morgan, as well as Councilwoman Linda Geevers, work on the draft since they both came up with their own reimbursement policy proposals in the past. But council members specified they only wanted the policy to apply to council at this point.
“We can start with council,” Morgan said. “Council does set policy in the township.” Then, Morgan said, “what we should do is take baby steps. We should do one for council, and we would see what kind of differences there are, and ask ourselves, ‘Why are there those differences?” in comparison with the reimbursements of other municipal employees.
The reimbursement issue came up earlier this month when Morgan voiced his concern during an approval for a mileage/parking reimbursement for the Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh. His concerns were similar to those raised during discussions during 2008 municipal budget.
The 2008 controversy involved salary increases that members of the Township Council wanted to impose for themselves. Those members who proposed the measure argued the salary increase would cover expenses they incurred from taking care of township business as part of the job.
That discussion turned into a debate over the expense reimbursement process, which was ultimately dropped until earlier last month, when Morgan found issue with a “blanket” $250 mileage reimbursement voucher submitted by Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh, along with another reimbursement of $14 for parking.
In 2008, the idea of creating a reimbursement policy surfaced after the council deliberated a 50 percent council raise from $5,000 a year to $7,500, and then a salary increase for the mayor from $17,685 to $25,000. Proponents argued that the raise was intended to cover the expenses they incurred while on the job, and that the raises would eliminate the need for submitting reimbursement forms and dealing with questions that could be raised when it comes to determining which reimbursements are associated with the job.
Opponents said that expenses legitimately accrued by council members as part of township business should be submitted and reimbursed. Morgan argued then, however, that he submitted vouchers that still had not been paid, and controversy broke out over the legitimacy of those reimbursements. One was reimbursement for a conference call and another was reimbursement for taking Planning Board Chairman Marvin Gardner to lunch to discuss the board’s involvement in the redevelopment process.
During the September 29, meeting, Morgan pointed to the $250 blanket reimbursement for the mayor and the situation that occurred with his two reimbursements — which he reported that the administration had eventually authorized — as examples as to why a clear policy is needed.
Morgan says the $14 voucher for parking he submitted in addition, should have been included in the mayor’s $250 blanket travel reimbursement.
Emphasizing that he was not personally criticizing Hsueh, Morgan took issue with the practice. “It’s an abuse to have that car allowance and also be able to put in for other travel reimbursements when you’re not using the full allowance,” he said.
Morgan says that in his conversations with former business administrator Chris Marion, he was told that the $250 is given to the mayor and certain other township employees monthly, but that the township does not investigate whether the employees accrued enough mileage expenditures to need the full $250.
In addition, “you should not be putting in for $14 of other travel expanses. They should be counted into the $250. It’s a double dip. It’s either that, or call the $250 a salary increase.”
“All of that should be encompassed into the $250,” Morgan added. “If you’re guaranteed the $250 no matter what, you shouldn’t be able to get more. You either take the $250, or get reimbursed on a per-expense basis.”
Morgan also pointed to council expenses as a reason to create a formal policy. He used former councilman Will Anklowitz as an example, saying that when Anklowitz served on council, he would send out mailings to all residents about upcoming issues, which cost Anklowitz money out of pocket.
“There is no clarity about what we can be reimbursed for,” Morgan said. Morgan first suggested getting rid of the blanket $250 reimbursement policy and having “a uniform policy for all employees.”
“We need fairness, we need equity, we need clarity, and we need transparency,” he said.
He said he also wanted to find out more information about the $250 reimbursement currently in place for municipal employees, including who uses it, how often it is used, and what it covers.
Business Administrator Robert Hary explained that most employees receive the $250 travel reimbursement as part of their contracts, which are negotiated with their labor unions. The mayor also receives a $250 travel reimbursement, which Hary said was put in place years ago by the council, which felt that “the reason why he should be treated differently than council was that he is essentially a full-time employee,” since he is in the municipal building daily.
All municipal employees must submit a report specifying their mileage, Hary said. If it does not add up to $250, the remainder of the $250 is taxed.
Hary said that making any changes now to the reimbursement procedure would be the best time since deliberations on the 2010 municipal budget are beginning.
After the meeting, Hary explained that “when individuals are doing the work of the township, we need to either provide them with a municipal vehicle or provide them reimbursement. So, what we decided to do is certain individuals have municipal vehicles; others receive a monthly stipend.”
Mayor Hsueh said that two years after he was first elected as mayor, the Council decided the mayor should get a car allowance similar to the business administrator and other municipal employees. He said that Morgan argued in favor of the move, saying that the township’s mayor needed to be able to work with other officials and that he needed to travel sometimes to do so.
Hsueh said he has to report his mileage every month. “If you don’t do that, it will be taxable,” he says, adding that this policy applies to all township department heads and managers. If he does not use the full $250, the remainder of the blanket reimbursement is taxable, he said. However, “usually, I use up all of it.”
“With today’s gas prices, the $250 is really not enough, but it doesn’t matter to me because I didn’t have anything for the first two years as a mayor anyway,” he said. And, “if I go out for dinner or lunch, I don’t ask for reimbursements.”
