Employee Handbook  

Section 7 - Employee Benefits

Overview

The City of West Des Moines offers a non-taxable allowance for cellular phone and services to those employees whose duties require the frequent use of Cell Phone devices. These employees are provided a monthly allowance to defray the cost of City of West Des Moines business-related phone calls.

The City does not typically purchase Cell Phone devices or cell service plans for employees conducting City business. An exception may be granted for departmental owned Cell Phone devices as detailed below. Cell Phone devices and service plans purchased with the monthly allowance may be used for both personal and Business Purposes. The allowance is intended to defray the cost of conducting City business with Cell Phone devices and is not intended to cover the total cost of a Cell Phone plan or usage. Departmental owned cell phone devices shall only be used for Business Purposes; Personal Use is not permitted.

Note that under Iowa Code Chapter 22 text messages, voice mails, etc. may fall under the Open Records Law/Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

City issued credit cards (i.e., P-Card) may not be used to pay for any Cell Phone device, service, accessories, or associated voice or data plans. An exception may be granted for departmental owned Cell Phone devices as detailed below.

I. Criteria

The allowance is granted per the following criteria:

1.  Job function requires extended time outside of assigned office or work area, and it is essential to the City that the employee be accessible during those times; and/or

2.  Job function requires continuous accessibility beyond scheduled or normal working hours (i.e., on-call responsibilities for critical City services); and/or

3.  Job function requires access to e-mail outside of the office or beyond normal scheduled working hours, and it is essential for the City that the employee has the ability to receive and send e-mail during those times.  

A Cell Phone device acquired as provided by the criteria above is considered to be the personal property of the employee. No City department or Department Director shall force employees to use a specific Cell Phone device, carrier or plan. However, some City services (i.e. email, calendar, contacts synchronization, paging) may not be compatible with all devices, carriers, or plans. The employee is responsible for ensuring compatibility.  

II. Exceptions

A departmental owned Cell Phone device for use by single or multiple individuals within the department may be purchased under the following conditions:

 1.  The departmental owned Cell Phone device will be used to fulfill functions related to special events, on-call duty, or maintenance, particularly to address emergency or after-hours related issues that require calling capabilities that cannot be addressed with a pager; or

2. The department owned Cell Phone is needed to be assigned to a vehicle or a position but no one person, or

3. Multiple employees will be using the departmental owned Cell Phone device to fulfill functions as noted above, making individual allowances financially imprudent, or

4. In limited, special circumstances as determined by the Department Director to ensure that job functions are able to be efficiently completed.  

The departmental owned Cell Phone device will be purchased by the department, and will be assigned to one individual within the department to manage and maintain control of the device, including phone assignment and ensuring that the equipment is only used for Business Purposes. This entails reviewing and maintaining records which establish the amount, date, place, and business purpose for each business call. An annotated copy of the Cell Phone bill is an example of such a record. The record should be audited or reviewed periodically, at least annually, for compliance.  

III. Cost Reduction Measures

Cell Phones and data plans are not intended to replace other available less expensive means of communication such as landline (or desktop) phones. In an effort to reduce costs, employees should:

1. Use conventional communication methods (e.g., landline phones, 2-way radio system) when available and cost effective.

2. Minimize forwarding landline calls to cell phones; and

3. Use landlines instead of cell phones while in the office.

 IV. Allowance

The allowance will be provided as non-taxable income to the employee. An employee is prohibited from continuing to collect a monthly Cell Phone allowance when his/her cell phone device is no longer active or needed for the performance of the employee’s job responsibilities. Simple convenience is not a criterion for granting a Cell Phone allowance. Please see “Cellular Phone Allowance Procedures” (Appendix A) for the allowance amount.  The allowance will be included in the first payroll of the month.

 V. Responsibility

Any employee receiving an allowance is expected to maintain Cell Phone service, notify the City of the Cell Phone number, agree to publication of the number as needed, and be reachable for City of West Des Moines Business Purposes. Failure to perform these requirements while receiving a Cell Phone allowance is subject to disciplinary measures up to and including termination.

All employees are also responsible for the correct, safe, and responsible use of all Electronic Communications Devices including but not limited to the making of legal phone calls and using "hands-free" devices with Cell Phones while driving vehicles or motorized equipment. As a safety precaution, employees are required to use a "hands-free" device when using personal or City Cell Phones, while operating City vehicles or motorized equipment. Employees are also required to use a "hands-free" device when using a City Cell Phone while operating a Personal Vehicle. Note, this is not to imply or require that Cell Phone must be answered if doing so would create an un-safe condition. The use of "hands-free" devices requirement is currently effective. By state law, no texting is allowed while vehicles are in motion.

Cellular Phone Allowance Agreement

CELL PHONE ALLOWANCE PROCEDURES

This procedure describes the process to request and approve an allowance from the City of West Des Moines for the use of Cell Phone devices in order to conduct City business.

Any employee who receives an allowance will be required to maintain Cell Phone service, notify the City of the Cell Phone number, agree to have his/her number distributed to appropriate staff members or published to the public, if needed, and be reachable for City Business Purposes.

Process

Upon determination that the necessary criteria are met as stipulated in the “Cellular Phone Allowance” policy, the employee and authorized approver will follow the process outlined below:

1. Legacy reimbursement plan options of monthly reimbursements of $40/50/60 are consolidated to one voice/data plan allowance of $70 per month.

2. Complete the Employee Cellular Phone Allowance Agreement form and obtain necessary approvals.

3. The approved form is then forwarded to Payroll personnel to enter into the payroll system.

4. The Employee Cellular Phone Allowance Agreement form must be reviewed and re-approved each Fiscal Year to confirm the employee’s eligibility for the cell plan allowance or the department’s eligibility for the owned cell phone device.

Employees required to receive City of West Des Moines e-mail on their wireless handheld devices should purchase a smartphone compatible with common email clients (Outlook, Gmail, Apple Mail, etc).

Departmental Owned Cell Phone Devices

For departments fulfilling functions related to special events, on-call duty, or maintenance, particularly addressing on-call or after-hours related issues requiring calling capabilities that cannot be addressed with a pager, a departmental owned Cell Phone device may be approved as an exception. Requests must be submitted to IT Services using the Purchase Exception Request form.  

The departmental owned Cell Phone device will be assigned to one individual within the department to manage and maintain control of the device, including phone assignment and ensuring that the equipment is only used for Business Purposes. This entails a monthly review and maintenance of records which establish the amount, date, place, and business purpose for each business call. An annotated copy of the monthly Cell Phone bill is an example of such a record.

Departmental owned Cell Phone devices shall only be used for Business Purposes; Personal Use is not permitted.

Exceptions

A departmental owned Cell Phone device used to fulfill functions as outlined above and in the “Cellular Phone Allowance” policy is an exception and must be authorized by the Department Director. Approved exceptions entitle the department to purchase the device.