§ 731 — Appointment of hearing officers

§ 731. Appointment of hearing officers. 1. The chief administrator of\nthe courts shall appoint a panel of small claims hearing officers\nselected from persons requesting to serve as such hearing officers who\nshall have submitted resumes of qualifications. Hearing officers to be\nappointed to the panel shall be qualified by training, interest,\nexperience, temperament and knowledge of real property assessment and\nvaluation practices and provisions of state and local law governing the\nmaking of assessments, but need not be attorneys at law. The chief\nadministrator of the court shall randomly assign a hearing officer or\nhearing officers, or may assign a judicial hearing officer designated\npursuant to article twenty-two of the judiciary law, to conduct an\ninformal hearing on the petition for review with the applicants for\nsmall claims and a representative of the assessing unit which made the\nassessment sought to be reviewed. Hearing officers assigned shall be\nfamiliar with the assessing unit in which the real property subject to\nreview is located, and shall not possess any conflict of interest as\ndefined by the public officers law with regard to the petitions to be\nheard. Hearing officers shall be compensated for their services in\naccordance with a fee schedule to be established by the chief\nadministrator of the courts. For purposes of subdivisions two and three\nof this section and the other provisions of this title, the term\n"hearing officer" shall include a judicial hearing officer.\n 2. A hearing officer shall disqualify himself or herself from a\nhearing where such officer possesses a conflict of interest as defined\nby the public officers law. Such hearing officer shall also disqualify\nhimself or herself from a hearing where such hearing officer has a\ndirect or indirect interest in any property for which a petition has\nbeen filed. For the purposes of this title, a hearing officer shall be\ndeemed to have a direct or indirect interest in any property for which a\npetition has been filed when the hearing officer, spouse, or any of his\nor her minor children:\n (a) is the owner of such property; or\n (b) is an officer, director, partner or associate of a law firm or\nreal estate firm which has a financial interest with the owner of such\nproperty.\n 3. Where a hearing officer disqualifies himself or herself, such\nhearing officer shall notify the chief administrator of the court who\nshall reassign the case to another hearing officer.\n