Per diem rates go up in some areas

Per diem rates for federal travelers in a dozen locations around the country are going up, the General Services Administration announced Thursday.

The following new per diem rates took effect May 27:

• Adams County, Colo. Maximum lodging rate: $73; Maximum incidental expenses: $38; Total maximum per diem rate: $111
• Denver, Colo. Maximum lodging rate: $83; Maximum incidental expenses: $42; Total maximum per diem rate: $125
• Jefferson County, Colo. Maximum lodging rate: $69; Maximum incidental expenses: $34; Total maximum per diem rate: $103
• Cobb County, Ga. Maximum lodging rate: $78; Maximum incidental expenses: $34; Total maximum per diem rate: $112
• Great Neck, N.Y. (The part of Nassau County north of the Southern States Parkway) Maximum lodging rate: $190; Maximum incidental expenses: $42; Total maximum per diem rate: $232
• Nassau County, N.Y. (The part of Nassau County south of the Southern States Parkway) Maximum lodging rate: $120; Maximum incidental expenses: $38; Total maximum per diem rate: $158
• Suffolk County, N.Y. Maximum lodging rate: $155; Maximum incidental expenses: $38; Total maximum per diem rate: $193
• St. Petersburg/Tampa, Fla., from Jan. 1 to Apr. 30 Maximum lodging rate: $105; Maximum incidental expenses: $38; Total maximum per diem rate: $143
• St. Petersburg/Tampa, Fla., from May 1 to Dec. 31 Maximum lodging rate: $86; Maximum incidental expenses: $38; Total maximum per diem rate: $124
• Tallahassee, Fla. Maximum lodging rate: $65; Maximum incidental expenses: $34; Total maximum per diem rate: $99
• Cambridge, Mass. Maximum lodging rate: $109; Maximum incidental expenses: $46; Total maximum per diem rate: $155
• Dakota County, Minn. Maximum lodging rate: $75; Maximum incidental expenses: $34; Total maximum per diem rate: $109
• Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minn. Maximum lodging rate: $85; Maximum incidental expenses: $46; Total maximum per diem rate: $131

The changes are the latest in a series of per diem rate improvements GSA has made this year since the agency altered the way it calculates per diems. The per diem formula change included making lodging taxes a separately reimbursable expense and giving cities and their suburbs different maximum per diem levels. The changes left many federal employees complaining that rates were too low.

Earlier this year, GSA adjusted per diems for the Great Neck area of Nassau County, New York. This week, GSA increased the per diem rate for the rest of Nassau County and clarified the boundaries of the Great Neck area. GSA also made changes earlier this year for Syracuse, N.Y., and localities in Texas, Michigan, New Jersey, South Carolina and West Virginia (see "Per diem rate changes coming," Mar. 29; and "Per diem rates go up in five states," Apr. 6).

For those agencies frustrated by federal travel regulations, GSA also announced on Thursday that it will allow agencies to test "new and innovative" methods of reimbursing travel and relocation expenses without seeking a waiver to current rules. Agencies must design test programs "to enhance cost savings or other efficiencies to the government" and submit a test plan in writing to GSA, the agency's May 27 Federal Register announcement said.