EEB Business Office News Briefs:
Good news for our travelers! The mileage reimbursement rate has been increased to 44.5 cents/mile, effective 11/15/06. For those of you who figure your personal vehicle use mileage reimbursements, please adjust your calculations to show the new rate. The Travel Expense Report eForm has been updated to reflect the new mileage rate of 44.5 cents per mile and the Travel sections of the FRS Departmental Manual have been updated to point to the new lodging and per diem rates at: http://www.gao.state.az.us/publications/SAAM/SAAM-2d06-20061115.pdf
Please contact Jose Montante, Financial Services Office, at (520) 621-7697 if you have any questions.
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Jean (Nov. 21, 2006)
Important news from the US State Department/Bureau of Consular Affairs
The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (part of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004) will require travelers to and from the Caribbean, Bermuda, Panama, Mexico and Canada to have a passport or other secure, accepted document to enter or re-enter the United States. The requirement will be implemented in two steps:
* January 8, 2007 - Requirement applied to all air and sea travel to or from Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Bermuda.
* January 1, 2008 - Requirement extended to all land border crossings as well as air and sea travel.
This is a change from prior travel requirements and will affect all United States citizens entering the United States from countries within the Western Hemisphere who do not currently possess valid passports.
What this means to you:
If you are traveling outside the United States by air or sea for any reason after 1/7/07, you will have to have a valid passport (or accepted document) to re-enter the United States. If you are traveling outside the United States by any means after 1/7/08 you will need a valid passport (or accepted document) to re-enter the United States. This will effect not only PIs and graduate students traveling for their research, but also undergrads on field trips into Mexico.
Please visit the following website for more information: http://www.travel.state.gov/travel/cbpmc/cbpmc_2223.html
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Jean (Sept. 13, 2006)
Overheard Conversations
The following conversation was overheard at the copier the other day:
George: "Hi, Gracie. I haven't seen you much this summer. How are you doing?"
Gracie: "Great--glad to be back. How about you?"
George: "Summer was just too short! Did you enjoy the EIEIO conference this year?"
Gracie: "It was wonderful--learned a lot and met some great people."
George: "Say, have you received your reimbursement for the trip?"
Gracie: "Yeah--I got it about two weeks after I got back. How about you?"
George: "Not yet. I sent the Business Office an email a couple days ago. It had my information and how much I should get reimbursed. Haven't heard anything yet."
Gracie: "I did my travel authorization before I left and had all my information ready. Also got some good tips on what receipts I would need."
George: "What are travel authorizations. We are supposed to turn in the receipts? Can't we just tell them what we spent and get reimbursed?"
Gracie: "Oh George!!!!"
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Jean (August 18, 2006)
"But Sir, I do have a parking permit. It's just in a dozen little pieces!"
Is your parking permit disintegrating more every time you handle it? Have you taped it up to try to keep it from falling apart more? Doesn't work, does it? However, you can contact Parking & Transportation at 626-7275 and they will issue a temporary permit to last until 8/16/06 when the new ones come out.
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Jean (June 14, 2006)
Hey Fred, we're short on connectors!
You are in the middle of a project and run short of supplies (screws, connectors, etc). No one is around with a PCard, neither you nor your project buddy has cash or a credit card with you and there is no Ace Hardware in the area. What can you do without stopping the work on the project? Help is now available at the Home Depots. All of the Home Depots in the Tucson area are now Stores' vendors. You can make purchases by giving them the account number for the project you are working on. However, as with all Stores' vendor purchases, you need to turn the receipt in to the Business Office. There is additional paperwork that has to be completed so the charges are allocated correctly. And just a reminder, Stores charges the account a 5% markup for providing the service. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.
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Jean (May 24, 2006)
I have a meeting across campus in 5 minutes and the shuttle is late!!!
Just a reminder folks: The Cat Tran Summer 2006 Shuttle schedule begins on Monday, 5/15/06. It will be in effect until August 11, 2006. If you use the shuttle, make sure you adjust your schedule. There are several Summer 2006 Shuttle Service Guides available in the EEB Business Office.
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Jean (May 12, 2006)
Where's Waldo? Has anyone seen Waldo?
Could he be in Stony Brook, DC, Panama or maybe Brazil? He is nowhere to be seen around campus. He didn't fill out a travel authorization or sign out on the "in-out-return" board in the EEB office. We don't know where he is and if Ed McMahon comes looking for him, we will just have to tell Ed to give the sweepstakes money to someone else. Please don't find yourself in Waldo's situation. If you are traveling on business--even if you will not request reimbursement from the U of A --please make sure you submit a travel authorization. Faculty--if you will be out of town for personal reasons (vacation, family reunions, etc.), please make sure you let Carol know. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.
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Jean (May 10, 2006)
But I Didn't Drink the Water!!!!!
Summer is fast approaching as is the field research season. To those of you going overseas for your project research, please take a few minutes to check out the CDC's Travelers' Health website. Based on your destination country, you may want to take extra precautions to guard your health. If you have any questions, please contact the Campus Health Service Immunization Office at 621-2292. Have a healthy summer!!
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Jean (April 18, 2006) |
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