(A) (1) The County Chief Administrative Officer, with the consent of the County Board, shall appoint an Administrative Law Judge to conduct administrative reviews under this chapter.
(2) The Administrative Law Judge shall serve for a term of three years and, during that three-year term, shall be subject to removal by the County Administrator only for cause.
(3) Cause for removal may be for any conduct unbecoming a hearing officer, dereliction of assigned duties or the existence of a systemic bias or conflict of interest that might affect impartiality of decisions.
(4) A person appointed to serve as an Administrative Law Judge shall either be law trained or have significant experience with the requirements and operation of administrative hearing processes. The person shall be free from any systemic bias or conflict of interest that might affect impartiality of decisions.
(5) An Administrative Law Judge, in individual administrative reviews, is subject to disqualification for bias, prejudice, interest or any other reason for which a judge may be disqualified in a court of law. The Administrative Law Judge shall not adjudicate/review a matter if he or she is biased or prejudicated with respect to any issue, person, or party; or has a personal interest which impairs his or her ability to fairly address the facts and law in a matter. A motion to disqualify under this rule may be submitted to the Administrative Law Judge by any party to an administrative appeal. The Administrative Law Judge shall consider the motion and shall decide whether to proceed with the adjudication/review or withdraw. The Administrative Law Judge may ask the parties in the matter on appeal to submit briefs, at the discretion of the Administrative Law Judge.
(a) BIAS means a subjective inclination, bent, or preconceived opinion based on extrajudicial factors (factors other than the law or evidence applicable in a matter under consideration), that impairs a judge from exercising fair and independent judgment regarding an issue, person, or party. BIAS does not refer to the possession of a general judicial philosophy.
(b) PREJUDICE means a fixed mental attitude or position of a judge, based on extrajudicial factors (factors other than the law or evidence applicable in a matter under consideration), that impairs the judge from dealing fairly and impartially with an issue, person, or party. The presence or absence of PREJUDICE can be determined by the totality of the circumstances.
(c) PERSONAL INTEREST includes family, social, political, financial, or other interests or relationships that influence a judge’s judicial conduct or judgment.
(B) (1) An Administrative Law Judge shall have authority to conduct an administrative review for violations of Ch. 152 of this code of ordinances and such other matters as specifically designated by published ordinance or policy.
(2) An Administrative Law Judge is a quasi-judicial officer, which includes the authority to investigate and adjudicate the matter on appeal. In all cases, the review of the matter on appeal shall be de novo. The Administrative Law Judge may mediate a resolution of the matter among the parties towards a settlement of the appeal.
(3) An Administrative Law Judge may continue a review for good cause shown by one of the parties or if the Administrative Law Judge independently determines that due process has not been adequately afforded to a party.
(4) At the request of any party to an administrative hearing, an Administrative Law Judge may sign subpoenas for witnesses, documents and other evidence where the attendance of the witness or the admission of evidence is deemed helpful by the Administrative Law Judge to decide issues at the hearing. All costs related to the subpoena, including witness and mileage fees, shall be borne by the party requesting the subpoena.
(5) The Administrative Law Judge may modify civil fees or fines upon a finding of good cause. The Administrative Law Judge may reduce the fines to what is just and equitable under the circumstances; however, in connection with an appeal regarding an itemized statement of costs, the Administrative Law Judge may not order the responsible person to pay less than actual costs incurred by the county and shall require the responsible person to pay the administrative costs as established in the consolidated fee schedule.
(6) The Administrative Law Judge shall have the authority to affirm or reverse, in whole or in part; remand; or modify the administrative decision of a county official.
(7) An Administrative Law Judge has continuing jurisdiction over the subject matter of an administrative review for the purposes of: granting a continuance; ordering compliance by issuing an administrative order; ensuring compliance of that order; authorizing the county to enter upon private property to abate a violation; modifying an administrative order, assessing costs of abatement, assessing civil fines; or, where extraordinary circumstances exist, granting a new review.
(8) An Administrative Law Judge may require a responsible person to post a performance bond to ensure compliance with an administrative order, but only if agreed to by the enforcement official handling the matter for the county.
(9) An Administrative Law Judge shall not make any order that would require or allow a person to violate state law or county ordinance.
(10) An Administrative Law Judge shall not adjudicate or review an appeal of a legislative decision.
(Ord. 2020-11, passed 9-2-2020; Ord. 2023-03, passed 5-16-2023)