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Weld County Code Ordinance 2025-03
In the Matter of Repealing and Reenacting, with Amendments, Chapter 2
Administration, and Chapter 5 Revenue and Finance of the Weld County Code
Be it ordained by the Board of County Commissioners of the County of Weld, State
of Colorado:
Whereas, the Board of County Commissioners of Weld County, Colorado, pursuant to
Colorado statute and the Weld County Home Rule Charter, is vested with the authority of
administering the affairs of Weld County, Colorado, and
Whereas, the Board of County Commissioners, on December 28, 2000, adopted
Weld County Code Ordinance 2000-1, enacting a comprehensive Code for the County of
Weld, including the codification of all previously adopted ordinances of a general and
permanent nature enacted on or before said date of adoption, and
Whereas, the Weld County Code is in need of revision and clarification with regard to
procedures, terms, and requirements therein.
Now, therefore, be it ordained by the Board of County Commissioners of the County of
Weld, State of Colorado, that certain existing Chapters of the Weld County Code be, and
hereby are, repealed and re-enacted, with amendments, and the various Chapters are
revised to read as follows.
Chapter 2
Administration
Amend Sec. 2-12-90. Use of private automobile.
Some positions require, as a condition of employment, the use of the employee's
vehicle in conducting assigned duties. Employees will be reimbursed mileage based on
the Internal Revenue Service mileage rate. This mileage rate covers all automobile
expenses such as fuel, maintenance, towing, repairs, tires, depreciation and insurance.
No reimbursement will be made for vehicle repair costs regardless of whether it results
from the traveler's act or acts of others. In addition to the standard mileage allowance,
tolls and parking fees are also reimbursable expenses if the use of the toll way is cost
effective or necessary. Weld County will not reimburse employees for parking tickets,
fines for moving violations or vehicle towing charges. Mileage which originates from the
employee's appointed work location and returns to that location is always measured
based on actual miles driven. Mileage reimbursement where either the point of origination
or the point of return, or both is the employee's home, is measured from the employee's
home to the destination and return, or, from the employee's department address to the
destination and return, whichever is less. When two (2) or more passengers travel in one
private automobile on official county business only one employee may claim
reimbursement for mileage. Personal vehicles may be used in lieu of commercial airline
travel. Mileage will be reimbursed at the established current rate but reimbursement for
mileage cannot exceed the cost of coach/economy airfare.
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Remainder of Section — No change.
Amend Sec. 2-12-160. Travel, lodging, meals, rental cars.
It is the policy of Weld County to reimburse staff for reasonable and necessary expenses incurred
in connection with approved travel on behalf of Weld County. When possible, employees should
use p -cards, instead of their own personal credit cards, to pay for travel related expenses. If a
P -card is available within the department, the P -card should be used to book all travel (airfare,
hotel, conference fees, etc.). Expenses for travel, including airfare and hotel, cannot be submitted
prior to completion of the trip if an employee's personal credit card was used to pay for these
costs.
If airfare is cancelled and the cancellation results in an airline credit in the employee's name, the
employee cannot use the airline credit for their own personal use. If a partial refund is issued for
any reason such as obtaining a cheaper fare, the employee cannot use the airline credit for their
own personal use.
Travelers seeking reimbursement should incur the lowest reasonable travel expenses and
exercise care to avoid impropriety or the appearance of impropriety. If a circumstance arises that
is not specifically covered in this travel policy, then the most conservative course of action should
be taken.
A. Lodging (commercial). The cost of overnight lodging may be reimbursed to the traveler if
the authorized travel is over forty-five (45) miles from the traveler's home or primary
worksite, whichever is closer to the hotel. Weld County will reimburse lodging expenses
at reasonable, single occupancy or standard business/government room rates. When the
hotel or motel is the conference or convention site, reimbursement will be limited to the
conference rate. Reimbursement for lodging is for commercial lodging only.
B. Meals and incidentals (conference/training). The Weld County Home Rule Charter says
that employees will be reimbursed for actual expenses incurred while on County business.
Employees traveling on County business are eligible for reimbursement for their personal
meal expenses. Employees may choose to submit receipts for their actual meal expenses,
or they may opt to use the per diem rate; an employee cannot combine both methods on
the same trip.
1.a through 1.i — No change.
2. Per Diem Allowance Reimbursement for Meals and Incidentals. An employee may
choose to get reimbursed for meals and incidentals using a per diem allowance.
Per diem allowances are reimbursable for in -state and out-of-state overnight travel
that is 45 miles or more from the traveler's home or primary worksite. Per diem
allowances are not allowed for in -state and out-of-state same day travel.
Weld County's per diem rates are based on the U.S. General Services
Administration (GSA) Guidelines, which vary by city location. In addition to meals,
these rates include incidental expenses such as laundry, dry cleaning, and service
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tips (e.g. housekeeping or porter tips). Incidental expenses, unless specifically
stated in this policy, will not be reimbursed.
Receipts are not required for per diem allowances. Per diem allowances are
reimbursed after the trip is completed.
3. and 4. — No change.
C. Meals (Single day travel). The Weld County Home Rule Charter says that employees will
be reimbursed for actual expenses incurred while on county business. This includes, but
is not limited to, the cost of meals and incidentals incurred during single day travel
according to the following rules:
1. through 5. — No change.
D. For air travel, the cost of coach/economy airfare, one piece of luggage and standard seat
assignment or early check -in fee will be reimbursed. Refundable fares are allowed when
it makes business sense to purchase the higher cost, refundable fare. Refundable fares
should only be used if there is a high likelihood that the trip may get cancelled.
E. Accounting for savings by early arrival and/or late departure. If an officer or employee
chooses to arrive early for a conference or meeting to take advantage of reduced airfare,
the officer or employee must reconcile the standard economy airfare with the reduced
airfare, the additional hotel and meal expenses, and any other expenses that were
incurred because of early arrival. This reconciliation is to be submitted with the expense
report. If the officer or employee chooses to arrive early or stay at a location after a
conference has ended for personal reasons, the employee will not be reimbursed for hotel
or meals for the time not spent on County business. An officer or employee is allowed to
depart the day before the conference or meeting begins and stay one day after the
conference ends if the conference ends late in the day or if airlines don't accommodate
travel that day.
Amend Sec. 5-5-190. Personal expense claim form.
A. The personal expense claim form should be used by a County employee requesting
reimbursement of expenses. An electronic version of this form should be used when
available, including any electronic approvals. Details of the expenses should be included.
B. If itemized receipts or digital images supporting the expenses are not attached, no
reimbursement will be allowed. Exception to this will be for parking and fuel for vehicles,
a notarized statement verifying the expense will be accepted. In the event there is a
catastrophic incident and receipts are not available, the Board of County Commissioners
may approve the reimbursement. A statement of the circumstances will need to be
submitted to the Controller, along with the expenses.
C. All personal expense claim forms must be submitted within sixty (60) days of the date the
expenses are incurred. Expenses for travel, including airfare and hotel, cannot be
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submitted prior to the trip if an employee's personal credit card was used to pay for these
costs.
Amend Sec. 5-5-200. Warrant release.
The Department of Accounting processes warrants once per week for Commissioner
approval at regular Board meetings. Warrants will not be paid until after Board approval.
Add Sec. 5-5-260. Credit Card Convenience Fees.
A convenience fee will be charged on all payments made via credit card or online payment
platforms to cover the costs associated with processing these transactions. This fee will be equal
to the processing fee charged by the credit card processor. The convenience fee will be clearly
disclosed to the customer prior to payment and will only apply to credit card payments. Customers
will have the option to avoid the fee by paying with ACH, cash, or check.
Amend Sec. 5-6-10. Fixed assets.
A. and B. — No change.
C. Fixed assets used in governmental fund type operations (general fixed assets) are
accounted for in the General Fixed Assets Account Group, rather than in governmental
funds. Acquisition of general fixed assets are recorded as capital outlay expenditures
within the governmental funds. Public domain ("infrastructure") general fixed assets
consisting of roads, bridges and rights -of -way are capitalized. No depreciation is taken on
general fixed assets and infrastructure in Governmental Funds. Depreciation is recognized
on the Government -Wide Financial Statements of the Annual Comprehensive Financial
Report.
D. Depreciation of all exhaustible fixed assets used by proprietary funds is charged as an
expense against its operations. Accumulated depreciation is reported on proprietary fund
balance sheets. Depreciation is determined using the straight-line method over the
estimated useful life, as follows:
Buildings
20-50 years
Improvements (Land and Buildings)
10-20 years
Equipment
3-10 years
Infrastructure — Bridges
50 years
Infrastructure — Roads
20 years
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Amend Sec. 5-6-20. General fixed assets.
General fixed assets are those assets not related to a specific service or function. To
ensure thorough disclosure and sufficient detail, the financial section should include a schedule
of fixed assets by function and activity and a schedule of changes in general fixed assets by
function and activity.
Amend Sec. 5-6-30. Inventory.
Department heads and elected officials are held responsible for the inventory assigned to
their departments per Section 29-1-506, C.R.S.; therefore, only minimal County guidelines are
required to ensure an accurate inventory system.
A. The Fixed Assets Inventory List shall be updated annually and shall contain a list
of all property with a useful life of at least one (1) year and a minimum value that
equals or exceeds ten thousand dollars ($10,000.00) for equipment and vehicles,
one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000.00) for buildings and improvements, and
one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000.00) for software (purchased or
subscription based).
Remainder of Section — No change.
Be it further ordained by the Board that the Clerk to the Board be, and hereby is, directed
to arrange for Municode to supplement the Weld County Code with the amendments
contained herein, to coincide with chapters, articles, divisions, sections, and subsections
as they currently exist within said Code; and to resolve any inconsistencies regarding
capitalization, grammar, and numbering or placement of chapters, articles, divisions,
sections, and subsections in said Code.
Be it further ordained by the Board, if any section, subsection, paragraph, sentence,
clause, or phrase of this Ordinance is for any reason held or decided to be
unconstitutional, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions
hereof. The Board of County Commissioners hereby declares that it would have enacted
this Ordinance in each and every section, subsection, paragraph, sentence, clause, and
phrase thereof irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections,
paragraphs, sentences, clauses, or phrases might be declared to be unconstitutional or
invalid
First Reading: March 17, 2025
Publication: March 23, 2025, in the Greeley Tribune
Second Reading: April 2, 2025
Publication: April 6, 2025, in the Greeley Tribune
Final Reading: April 21, 2025
Publication: April 27, 2025, in the Greeley Tribune
Effective: May 2, 2025
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