A. If a hearing is timely and properly requested, the City Manager’s designee shall appoint a neutral and impartial Hearing Officer to hold and conduct an administrative hearing in accordance with this section. The employment, performance evaluation, compensation, and benefits of the Hearing Officer, if any, shall not be directly or indirectly conditioned upon the decision of the Hearing Officer.
B. The City shall set a hearing to take place before the Hearing Officer within 60 calendar days from the date that a timely and proper hearing request is filed, or upon any other date mutually agreed upon by all parties to the hearing. The City shall provide notice of the date, time, and location of the hearing to all responsible parties and interested parties at least 10 calendar days prior to the hearing. The hearing notice shall specify that failure to appear at the hearing will constitute a waiver of the right to dispute the invoice and the nuisance abatement costs, a failure to exhaust administrative remedies, and a bar to any further challenge to the Invoice or the nuisance abatement costs.
C. The Hearing Officer shall hold an informal administrative hearing. Formal rules of evidence shall not apply to this hearing; however, there shall be an opportunity to present testimony, documentary evidence, and other evidence to the Hearing Officer, and to cross-examine witnesses. Only the specific parties that requested the hearing, and the City, may participate in the hearing.
D. The Hearing Officer may continue the hearing and request additional information as is reasonable and necessary.
E. At the conclusion of the hearing, or within 5 days thereafter, the Hearing Officer shall issue a decision approving, denying, or modifying the amount of the nuisance abatement costs that the City is entitled to recover. The Hearing Officer’s decision shall be final. The City shall serve notice of the Hearing Officer’s Decision in accordance with this Chapter.
F. All costs of the hearing, including attorneys’ fees, shall be borne by the non-prevailing parties. If any cost recovery is upheld, even in part, the City shall be the prevailing party. If cost recovery is entirely denied, the requesting parties shall be the prevailing parties.
G. If the City is the prevailing party, the Hearing Officer’s decision shall order the responsible parties to pay the confirmed nuisance abatement costs to the City within 30 calendar days, and shall specify that any confirmed nuisance abatement costs not paid within 30 calendar days shall become a lien and special assessment against the nuisance property.
[Ord. No. 568, Section 2, 5/10/17.]