ECHAN, BARBARA A. 3 -2013 - Laserfiche WebLink

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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 10`h day following the date of the hearing; 2. Mailing the final written decision to the appellant, with a copy 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 the Planning and Building 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 the 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; 2. The hearing officer's timely submission of reasonable and acceptable documentation supporting all expenses being claimed by the hearing officer; and 3. The hearing officer's prompt return to the City of all file materials relating to closed cases, 4. Contractor's services will be billed to the nearest quarter hour. H. Providing hearing officer services to other clients is not barred so long as the hearing officer does not decline the request for hearing services more than two consecutive times; specifically, the hearing officer must: 1. Maintain the ability to respond to requests for hearings and prehearing motions within 24 hours; 2. Meet all applicable time lines; and 3. Demonstrate that such outside practice does not conflict with contractual work with the City of Santa Ana. 1. Comply with the decision format requirements set by the City pursuant to the rules governing a hearing officer's decision as per SAMC 1-21.8, 16-119, 17-105, 17-108, and 17-135. The decisions