HUMBOLDT — Humboldt council has passed a new policy, where the city agrees to provide reimbursement up to $2,000 for moving and travel expenses for new employees of the city.
The policy, known as the Moving Expense Policy, only applies to new employees relocating from distances exceeding 100 kilometres, and may be used at the discretion of the director or manager as a negotiating tool for recruitment of personnel.
For the positions of senior management, the city manager has the discretion to increase the reimbursement amount.
This is the city’s first official relocating fund policy. Recently, any moving expenses reimbursement has been at the discretion of administration with an informal cap of $2,000.
“This is an excellent step to move forward with as it gives us both transparency and ensures equality amongst all of the employees and not leave room for anybody to question that somebody is doing favouritism or excess moving expenses,” said Michael Behiel, Humboldt’s mayor.
Items which could be reimbursed includes transportation and storage costs for household items, including boats and trailers, as well as packing, hauling, movers, in-transit storage, and insurance.
Travel expenses are also covered including vehicle expenses, meals and accommodation, to move the employee and their household members to a new residence in Humboldt; temporary living expenses up to a maximum of 15 days for meals and temporary lodging for the employee and their household members; and mileage reimbursement for personal vehicles.
According to administration, moving expenses occur about once per year for an eligible employee. The city does not budget for this expense because there is generally salary savings from the vacated position that are sufficient to cover any potential moving expenses.
