Eastern Division Finance Committee
Division & Region Expense Reimbursement Guidelines
Dec 12th, 2007

The purpose of this memo is to outline more clearly the guidelines for expense reimbursement related to program delivery at the Region and Division levels.  Similar to the guidelines published earlier this year by the ED Finance Committee, this is to serve as a general guide rather than an all encompassing document.  In other words, it is the hope of the ED Finance Committee to educate our Staff Members to better understand when expenses are to be allocated to the Regions or Division.

The general rule of thumb is to keep in mind how an Officer, Program Administrator, or Staff member is represented at a particular event.  If they are required to be at an event by Division, or because their presence is required due to their Division position, their expenses will be reimbursed by the Division.  Expenses to be paid by the Eastern Division include housing, mileage, and meals in accordance with existing Division guidelines.  Below are some examples:

• Division meetings such as the Spring, Fall, and Winter BOD meetings - The Division will reimburse expenses for all BOD members, the Legal Advisor, Treasurer, Secretary as well as Program Administrators who are required to be at the meetings.
• Program Supervisors required to attend Division sponsored events are to be reimbursed by the Division.  For example, if the ED hosts a Division sponsored Avalanche Course (Level 1 or 2) the Supervisor overseeing the event would be reimbursed by the Division.
• Division Staff Members asked to attend a Division sponsored event such as the S&T Staff Meeting, Senior T/E Clinic, or Senior Evaluation to act as QA will be reimbursed by the Division.
• A Finance Committee member attends a Board of Directors meeting to keep up with what is happening.  The Committee member would not be reimbursed by the Division since there was no requirement to attend.
• A Region ROA attends the Eastern Division Student Seminar as an Examiner at the request of the Eastern Division Student Advisor.  The expense would be reimbursed by the Division.
• A Chaperone who also happens to be an EMM Trainer Evaluator attends the Eastern Division Student Seminar and evaluates the event.  The expense would not be reimbursed by the Division because the Chaperone was not requested by the Division.  The expenses may be paid by the Region or Patrol that students being chaperoned came from.

While we owe a great deal of gratitude for the outstanding work our Program Supervisors and Staff Members offer to the Division as a whole, they sometimes act in a Region capacity and when doing so, they will be reimbursed by their Region.  Examples include:

• A Senior S&T T/E clinic is being held in a neighboring Region.  A member of the Division S&T Staff is asked to attend by their Region Supervisor as an evaluator.  This individual is a member of the Division Staff, but because they are acting in the capacity of an evaluator and not in their capacity as a Division Staff member expenses are paid by said Region.
• An OEC Examiner is asked to attend a Region Patroller Examination.  This examiner also happens to be on the Division OEC Senior EMM Staff.  Because they are acting as representatives of their Region for a local event, expenses are absorbed by their Region.
• A Level II Avalanche Examiner is asked by their Region to hold a Region Clinic for those wishing to take part in a Division sponsored event later in the season.  Again, because this individual is representing their Region the expenses are paid by the Region.

To summarize and reiterate, the Program Supervisors, Staff Members, and Administrators need to be aware of the capacity in which they are serving at a particular event.  The examples cited are not intended to be comprehensive, but rather serve to outline in a broad sense the delineation between Region versus Division expense reimbursement.

If anyone has any questions please contact one or both of the people listed below BEFORE incurring any expenses of which you're not sure.

Contacts: