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Travel Meeting Minutes March 25, 2010

Governor's Travel Control Board Meeting Minutes for March 25, 2010 [PDF, 228KB]

GOVERNOR'S TRAVEL CONTROL BOARD

Meeting of the Board

March 25, 2010
10 a.m.

James R. Thompson Center
Room 4-404
100 West Randolph Street
Chicago, Illinois 60601

and

William G. Stratton Building
Room 715
401 Spring Street
Springfield, Illinois 62706

MINUTES

PRESENT:

Members

In Chicago
  • Chairman James P. Sledge
  • Simone McNeil
In Springfield
  • David Vaught

Staff

In Chicago
  • Steve Schweitzer, Legal Counsel
In Springfield
  • Kelley Shaw, State Travel Coordinator
  1. Call to Order

    On March 25, 2010 at approximately 10 a.m., Chairman James P. Sledge called to order a meeting of the Governor's Travel Control Board.

  2. Consideration of Minutes

    January 27, 2010

    The minutes of the meeting of January 27, 2010, were approved. Motion made by David Vaught, with a second by Simone McNeil to approve the minutes as submitted. Motion carried 3-0.

  3. New Business

    Legislative Audit Commission Report

    The Board reviewed and approved the FY10 2nd Quarter Exception Report to be sent to the Legislative Audit Commission.

  4. Approved Travel Exceptions

    1. A state employee was unable to attend a conference due to illness and medical advice which resulted in an unused airline ticket in the amount of $217.20.

    2. A state employee incurred an additional baggage fee of $30.00 while traveling out of state on official state business due to the training materials she was required to transport.

    3. A state employee traveled from Springfield to Chicago via United Airlines at a cost of $241.40. This is above the approved rate of $140.00. The Board approved reimbursement in the amount of $140.00.

    4. A state employee was traveling to Dallas, Texas and was required to transport files needed for the meeting being attended. This resulted in a fee of $30.00 being charged.

    5. A state employee was scheduled to attend an out of state conference when, due to unanticipated scheduling conflicts, was forced to cancel the trip. This resulted in an early cancellation fee of $178.88 being charged to the agency Bank of America card.

    6. A state employee was attending an out of state conference and was required to stay an extra night. This resulted in $238.71 being incurred and charged to the agency Bank of America card.

    7. A state employee was required to travel to Chicago on a weekend and was unable to obtain the state rate which isn't offered on weekends. This resulted in the employee being charged $50.00 instead of the state rate of $18.00.

    8. A state of Illinois employee was attending a national conference and as a part of the activities a dinner was provided at an additional charge of $70.00. Attendance at the dinner was mandatory and the employee was required to forfeit the dinner portion of per diem.

    9. A state employee was attending the funeral for a relative out of state. The Attorney General's office required the employee to testify at a hearing, therefore the employee was forced for incur charges of $338.60 in order to be present.

    10. An employee of the state was traveling out of state on official state business when informed that her mother had passed away. (A fee of $245.00 was charged to change the ticket to allow the employee to return home earlier than scheduled due to the death of the employee’s mother.)

  5. Travel Exceptions – More information needed before approval can be granted

    1. An employee of the state changed an airline ticket and was charged a change fee of $150.00.

    2. A state employee had a reservation at the Crowne Plaza Springfield but became ill and was unable to remain in Springfield. The employee was charged $78.40 for an early departure fee.

    3. Two employees traveled out of state for a period of five days and each checked an additional piece of luggage. Both employees incurred baggage fees of $60.00 each.

    4. An employee of the state traveled to Washington, DC and was charged an overweight baggage fee of $100.00.

    5. A state employee traveled from Chicago to Springfield via Amtrak. The employee neglected to exit the train when the Springfield stop was called and ended up in Alton, Illinois. The employee spent the night in Alton and is requesting reimbursement for an extra nights lodging in Alton and the additional train fare.

    6. An employee traveled to Washington, DC and was unable to return via the original flight booked because of a winter storm. The employee was able to book a flight on a smaller plane which resulted in excess transportation costs of $278.40.

  6. Travel Exceptions – Denied

    1. An employee incurred a $50.00 early departure fee charged by the Springfield Hilton.

  7. Adjournment

    The Meeting was adjourned at 11:10am. . Motion made by Simone McNeil, with a second by David Vaught. Motion carried 3-0.

Respectfully submitted,
Steve Schweitzer
GTCB Counsel