08-03-2023_BoardBook

Areas Addressed in BOT Travel Policy for Discussion 1) Changed overall verbiage to reflect “meetings” versus “conferences” to be more overarching, and not just reflective of conference-related travel.

2) Should airfare reimbursement be changed to reflect $600 versus $700 maximum?

3) Various scenarios/interpretations under Meal Reimbursement of $125/day: o Scenario #1: The BOT member understands this line to mean they have a meal allowance of $125/day only on their days of travel to and from the conference/meeting.

o Scenario #2: The BOT understands this line to mean they have a meal allowance of $125/day for the entire duration of the conference/meeting .

• Scenario #2A: The BOT member spends the $125 allowance on meals during the day (breakfast/lunch/snacks) despite OMA (or the host organization) providing those meals.

• Scenario #2B: The BOT member spends the $125 allowance on meals after OMA programming has been completed for the day (dinner/snacks)

• Scenario #2C: The BOT member spends the $125 allowance on meals both during and after scheduled programming (breakfast/lunch even if provided and dinner/snacks even if not "technically" conference related)

Further, although not enumerated here, the BOT will need to determine if they desire significant others to be included in the BOT Dinner or other events that the BOT is expected to attend such as the Member Event at OMA’s Conference(s). The BOT dinners are typically in excess of $5K and when the OMA staff sets the operational budget for numbers of persons to include in the meal, we don’t account for significant others in this “count”. Further, the OMA Member Event is a paid event for members, and while these expenses are waived for the BOT Member, they are not waived for additional guests. It seems that historically the BOT Dinner is a thanks to the BOT for their service, which would not include significant others, but perhaps the BOT feels differently….?

4) Should annual attendance at EASO/ECO be a “given” from year to year, or does it need to be reviewed annually? Knowing the cost of travel, registration, etc. for two BOT members to attend is in excess of $10-15K, should this be a standing expense for budgeting processes?