QUESTION
How can OATH improve efficiency with additional resources?
2:47:33
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139 sec
OATH explains the factors affecting timely resolutions and decisions in their Trials and Hearings Divisions.
- There has been a 125% increase in real estate and land use cases, which are more complex and time-consuming.
- Additional staff attorneys could lead to quicker resolutions in the Trials Division.
- Per session hearing officer funds have been allocated towards efficiency initiatives.
- OATH still has budget flexibility to hire more per diem hearing officers if needed.
Lincoln Restler
2:47:33
I with more resources, could oath administer more timely resolutions or decisions for in both divisions?
Asim Rehman
2:47:50
So let's start with the Trials Division.
2:47:53
There are factors that can lead to an increase in time.
2:47:57
The most obvious factor is an increase in caseload.
2:48:00
But there are other factors that affected as well that are not as tied to resource and that is the makeup of the cases.
2:48:07
So there's a body of cases.
2:48:09
Every year the kind of division of those cases changes, So when we look at the 1st 4 months of the past fiscal year, the current fiscal year and compared to last year, the cases for the trials division Year over year included a 125% increase in cases relating to real estate and land use.
2:48:26
Those are more complicated those naturally take more time.
2:48:30
So it's not a delay.
2:48:31
It's the nature of the case just leads to more time.
2:48:34
In our hearings division, The summonses are handled by 2 types of individuals.
2:48:41
You have our full time staff.
2:48:42
Those are our staff attorneys.
2:48:44
They hear cases.
2:48:45
And then you have our part time per diem judicial hearing officers.
2:48:50
And that is a body of individuals who work part time They again are not on the full time staff, and they adjudicate these matters.
2:49:00
If we had additional staff attorneys, Are there matters that we could probably turn around quicker?
2:49:07
The answer is yes.
2:49:08
I mean, that is simple math that if you have greater resources in certain divisions, you may be able to to have greater efficiencies.
2:49:15
On the per session hearing officer side, we still have money in our budget to hire more per session hearing officers.
2:49:22
So more resources aren't needed because we actually have the cushion that we need to bring.
Lincoln Restler
2:49:26
There was more egg on the per diem hearing officers.
Asim Rehman
2:49:28
There was.
2:49:29
And we put money from We put money towards that because we looked at what we had in our budget to pay the per dMs.
2:49:35
And we said, okay.
2:49:36
Even if we hire more per dMs, we still have some left.
2:49:41
And we were able to put that towards the peg.
2:49:44
We think that putting the proteome hearing officer funds towards the peg is not limiting our ability because we still have the ability to to to hire more per diem.