Hearings before administrative agencies, such as those before the commissioner of motor vehicles, are informal and are not governed by the strict or technical rules of evidence. See South Windsor v. South Windsor Police Union Local 1480, 57 Conn.App. 490, 505, 750 A.2d 465, cert. granted on other grounds, 253 Conn. 924, 754 A.2d 800 (2000). In the context of an administrative hearing, hearsay evidence is permissible and may properly be admitted without the presence of the witness at the hearing.