ECHAN, BARBARA A. 2 - 2009 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Job Requirements for Administrative Hearing Officers A. A hearing officer must be independent and impartial. In this regard, a hearing officer may not: 1. be an employee of the City of Santa Ana or any public agency that is involved in testifying at a hearing; be a member of any board of commission of the City of Santa Ana; 2. have a personal or professional interest that would conflict with his or her objectivity in the hearing; B. All hearings will be conducted at Santa Ana City Hall, at dates and times to be determined by the City. C. A hearing officer must possess the necessary support and equipment to perform his /her duties as a hearing officer. At a minimum, the hearing officer must have and maintain in good working order (1) a telephone (monitored during business hours by a secretary, answering service or answering machine or system); (2) a facsimile machine; (3) a personal computer, with internet service, running Windows and Microsoft Office compatible software; and (4) an electronic mail address. D. A hearing officer must possess standards of neutrality and confidentiality. E. A hearing officer must organize and maintain individual case files along with detailed records of activity on each case, such as research, drafting of orders, decisions, and correspondence. F. A hearing officer must comply with all legal and contractual timelines, including but not limited to: 1. rendering a final written decision, including findings of fact disposing of all issues raised by the parties in a hearing not later than the 10th day following the date on which the request for hearing was filed; 2. mailing the final written decision to the City on the date the decision is rendered; 3. returning individual case files to the City within 30 days of rendering a final decision. The files which must be organized and maintained by the hearing officer are the property of the City of Santa Ana and must be maintained in accordance with the Agency's record retention schedule. It is therefore imperative that the files are returned to the Agency within 30 days of the date of the issuance of the final decision. 4. Upon notification that the agency has received a request for a document pursuant to the public information act, the relevant document must be provided to the City immediately. G. The hearing officer shall prepare and submit to either the Planning & Building Agency and /or the Public Works Agency by the fifth of each month a standard invoice detailing the activities and expenses by case. An invoice template will be provided. Payment for services and reimbursement of expenses by the City to a hearing officer are further conditioned upon: 1. The reasonableness of the amount of time spent by the hearing officer on the case(s) for which the hearing officer is seeking payment/reimbursement;