SUBJECT/RECOMMENDATION:
Title
Approve a contract with Florida Division of Administrative Hearings (DOAH) to provide Hearing Officers for the Civil Service Administration and authorize the appropriate officials to execute same. (consent)
Body
SUMMARY:
City of Clearwater Code of Ordinances, Chapter 2, Article IV, Division 2, as amended, establishes the Civil Service Administration.
Section 2.285(1) specifically authorizes the City Commission to contract with DOAH to provide a Hearing Officer for the purpose of hearing appeals by classified employees who are suspended, demoted, or dismissed.
DOAH offers agencies an impartial, efficient resource to hear and resolve disputes involving agency decisions in which a party has a right to a hearing. The contract rate is $148/hr plus expenses. In the past, the City has contracted with private attorneys to act as Civil Service Hearing Officers. The City is experiencing difficulty appointing Hearing Officers who will accept the current DOAH rate.
The City has a current contract with DOAH, entered into in 2003, to provide Administrative Law Judges for appealing decisions rendered on variances and conditional uses by the Community Development Board.
APPROPRIATION CODE AND AMOUNT:
N/A
USE OF RESERVE FUNDS:
N/A