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<br />REQUEST FOR <br />COUNCIL ACTION <br /> <br />8 CITY COUNCIL MEETING DATE: <br /> <br />~ <br />~ <br /> <br />CLERK OF COUNCIL USE ONLY: <br /> <br />.JULY 6, 2004 <br /> <br />TITLE: <br />AGREEMENT AMENDMENT WITH ABEL ARMAS <br />FOR HEARING OFFICER SERVICES FOR <br />NUISANCE ABATEMENT PROCEEDINGS <br /> <br />APPROVED <br /> <br />0 As Recommended <br />0 As Amended <br />0 Ordinance on 1 st Reading <br />0 Ordinance on 2nd Reading <br />0 Implementing Resolution <br />0 Set Public Hearing For <br /> <br />~~ <br /> <br />CONTINUED TO <br /> <br />~( <br /> <br />FILE NUMBER <br /> <br />RECOMMENDED ACTION <br /> <br />Direct the City Attorney to prepare and authorize the City Manager and <br />Clerk of the Council to execute an amendment to the agreement with Abel S. <br />Armas to serve as hearing officer for nuisance abatement proceedings in an <br />amount not to exceed $40,000. <br /> <br />8 DISCUSSION <br /> <br />Since 1997, property owners who have been cited by Community Preservation <br />for code violations have been offered mediation through hearing officer <br />proceedings. As an alternative to court proceedings, hearings are <br />conducted by the City pursuant to the Alternative Abatement Proceedings in <br />accordance with Article VIII of Chapter 17 of the Santa Ana Municipal <br />Code. <br /> <br />For the past seven years, the City has contracted with Mr. Abel S. Armas <br />to conduct the hearings regarding nuisance abatement for the Planning and <br />Building Agency. His performance has been most professional and his past <br />experience in law enforcement gives him the necessary insight to properly <br />mediate these cases. <br /> <br />The City Attorney's Office has advised that the City enter into a contract <br />of longer than a one-year duration for hearing officer services, based on <br />a California Supreme Court action. This would help to alleviate the <br />concern for bias rulings by the hearing officer in the City's favor in <br />order to ensure annual renewal of contracted services. The California <br />Supreme Court recently ruled that a hearing officer who is paid on a case- <br />by-case basis with no guarantee of future business has a financial <br />conflict of interest, which creates a perception that the officer will <br />rule in the city's favor. For this reason, the City Attorney's Office <br />recommends a two-year contract with a covenant that the City will not <br />8terminate the contract in retaliation for an adverse decision. The <br />proposed amendment to the agreement would increase the agreement by <br />$20,000 and be effective for an additional two-year period. <br /> <br />258-1 <br />