M-10 - Public Expenditures Policy-2026 - DRAFT

SECTION 1 PURPOSE The City of Tiffin values the contributions of its employees in fulfilling the mission of the City and providing quality services to our community. While there are occasions when public dollars are expended on activities to promote employee morale, it is important to recognize that such expenditures are public funds for public purposes under the law. This policy is to comply with detailing the public purpose of certain expenditures and to guide the requests for reimbursement of such expenditures, when the public purpose cannot easily be quantified. The City Administrator’s Office has responsibility for enforcing this policy. The following expenditures qualify as public purposes: • Employee retirement events • Employment tenure recognition • Staff recognition events • Funeral flowers Employee Retirement Events Costs related to employee retirement events, as detailed below, are allowable expenses. A. Allowable Expenses a. Costs related to open houses are an allowable expense. This includes refreshments such as cake, cookies, other dessert, fruit, vegetables, cheese, punch, coffee, and associated paper products. This does not include alcohol. b. Costs related to gifts or gift certificates are not an allowable expense. c. Non-allowable expenses may be covered by employee contributions. B. Eligible Employees a. Eligible employees are those who qualify for retirement under their retirement system and have filed for retirement. b. This applies to welcome or farewell events for the City Administrator, City Attorney, Assistant City Administrator, City Clerk, Council members, Board and Commission members or those designated by the City Administrator. Employment Tenure Recognition Costs related to recognition of employees’ tenure with the City are allowable expenses, as detailed below. A. Allowable Expenses a. Official City of Tiffin branded merch will be purchased. These items are awarded on each of the employee’s five-year employment anniversaries beginning at the end of the fifth year of employment. b. A retirement gift, such as a clock or similar item, including the City’s logo and a tribute to the employees’ years of service. c. Framed certificate recognizing years of service. 2