Hearing Officer Recruitment

HEARING OFFICERS

SCOPE OF SERVICES:  BID #012-553884-HY                   

1.  INTRODUCTION:  OCHA was designated as a public housing agency by the Department Of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in 1971.  OCHA administers HUD’s Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program as the Housing Assistance Division within the organizational structure of Orange County Community Resources and Orange County Community Services.

Under the direction of a Division Manager, OCHA currently provides tenant-based rental assistance for over 9,600 low-income families (“Tenants”) who reside within thirty-one cities and unincorporated areas of Orange County, excluding the cities of Anaheim, Garden Grove and Santa Ana.

2.  PURPOSE:  In accordance with HUD Regulations (24 CFR 982) and OCHA’s Administrative Plan, tenants have due process rights and must be given an opportunity to appeal when the Housing Authority has taken action that is adverse to the Tenant’s material interests.  A request for an informal hearing must be scheduled at the earliest available date and must be conducted by an independent person selected by OCHA, who is not involved with the decisions made in the day-to-day operation of the program.

In order to provide the requisite hearings, the Housing Authority requires the services of Hearing Officer’s to conduct the hearings and render a decision on whether the Housing Authority’s decision is justified under the law. Along with the other Hearing Officers, Contractor’s name will be placed in a pool, from which their services will be rotated on an as-needed basis, to conduct appellate hearings. It is anticipated that up to 150 informal hearings will be conducted annually.  The frequency of hearing assignments will   be assigned based on the number of available hearing officers.  No guarantee of a minimum number assignments is either given or implied.

3.  DESCRIPTION OF SERVICES:  The Contractor will perform the services described herein for each informal hearing assigned:

A.    Contractor shall independently conduct an informal hearing in accordance with HUD rules and regulations, the Orange County Codified Ordinances, and OCHA Administrative Policy.  The Contractor shall receive evidence presented, both orally and in writing, from tenants, OCHA staff, witnesses, and legal representatives.  Contractor shall ask relevant questions and consider evidence presented without regard to admissibility under the California Evidence Code and rules of judicial proceedings.  Contractor shall regulate the conduct during the hearing proceedings to allow an equal opportunity for tenants, OCHA staff, witnesses, and legal representatives to present their points of view. (Informal hearings are generally scheduled to be conducted within a maximum of two hours.) 

B.    Contractor shall render a final decision on the causes of action raised at the hearing that shall be based upon the preponderance of evidence submitted by the Housing Authority and the tenant.   Contractor shall prepare a written decision, summarizing the facts and the regulations relevant to the decision and conclude with a recommended course of action to either confirm, over-turn, or modify the action taken by the Housing Authority. Contractor shall prepare the written decision outside of OCHA’s facilities. The time taken to prepare the decision and the recommended course of action will not exceed three hours per hearing, unless authorized in writing by OCHA. 

C.     Contractor shall provide a copy of the hearing decision by certified mail service, to OCHA and to the tenants within 15 calendar days from the date the hearing concludes. In addition:

COMPENSATION:

FEES AND CHARGES: Contractor’s sole and complete compensation for services rendered pursuant to this Agreement, including any and all overhead, secretarial services and supplies, shall be negotiated as a fixed-fee payment of not less than $300.00 and not more than $450.00 per case for duties performed as set forth in this Contract. 

If a scheduled hearing is cancelled or postponed to a later date, and Contractor does not receive at least a twenty-four (24) hour notice of such cancellation or postponement, Contractor will receive a cancellation fee of $75.00 per hearing.  If Contractor is notified of the cancellation or postponement two or more calendar days prior to the scheduled hearing date, no cancellation fee will be paid.

If Contractor is scheduled for mandatory training to obtain pertinent information regarding HUD regulations and/or OCHA’s Administrative Plan relevant to the administration of the Housing Choice Voucher program, CONTRACTOR will receive $40.00 per hour for the time spent receiving training.

Applicants who are interested in applying for this position may do so online at the website: www.BidSync.com.  Follow the instructions for free registration as a vendor and search by bidding number: 012-553884-HY.  For future notification of bidding opportunities with the County, register under: “Professional Services”.

DISCLAIMER:

Please note, candidates applying as an individual and not as a firm or corporation, may not be subject to the same provisions regarding financial and insurance requirements.