(A) In addition to any other grounds for removal stated herein, the Mayor may recommend suspension or removal of a wrecker from a rotation list whenever he has probable cause to believe any of the following:
(1) The placement on the rotation list was procured by fraudulent conduct or false statement of a material fact or that a fact concerning the applicant was not disclosed at the time of application and such fact would have constituted just cause for refusal to place the applicant on a rotation list. Such fraudulent conduct or false statement shall not only remove the applicant from rotation, but shall deny them the privilege of participating in the rotation for a year from the date of removal.
(2) The wrecker employed a police band radio to obtain information as to the location of the scene of an accident for a disabled vehicle.
(3) The wrecker paid in the form of a gratuity to any third person not involved in an accident for information as to the location of that accident.
(4) The wrecker has violated a tariff by overcharge.
(5) The wrecker has violated any of the requirements of this article or any of the rules and regulations as established by the Mayor or any of the rules, regulations or tariffs of the Public Regulation Commission or any other state law or city ordinance.
(6) The wrecker has received three or more consumer or APD complaints, which the wrecker has received written notification of and to which they have not responded in writing, and/or the wrecker has been the subject of two or more enforcement actions by the Public Regulation Commission where the wrecker has been found liable.
(7) The wrecker, if subject to § 7-7-3(G), has failed to comply with the provisions of this article or the agreement with the city.
(B) (1) A wrecker shall be granted a hearing by the hearing officer after written notice by registered mail or by personal service before suspension or removal from the rotation list may be undertaken. The hearing shall be held within 14 working days of the notice which must contain a statement of the facts upon which the Mayor has acted. At the hearing the wrecker and any other interested person shall have the right to present evidence.
(2) If, after such hearing, the hearing officer finds that this article has been violated, he may suspend or remove the wrecker from the rotation list. The hearing officer shall make written findings of facts upon which the decision was made.
(C) A wrecker removed from rotation pursuant to this section shall not be permitted to submit an application to be included on a rotation list for one year from the date of its removal. If a wrecker decides to so reapply, it shall follow all procedures for application as set out herein, including payment of an application fee pursuant to § 7-7-11, as though the wrecker had never appeared on a rotation list.
(D) If any party, including the city, feels the hearing officer acted improperly, or that such action as the hearing officer took is arbitrary, capricious, or unlawful, said party shall have the right to appeal to the Second Judicial District Court. The hearing officer shall maintain a record of all appeals heard before it, and all appeals to the District Court shall be from the record. Said record shall consist of a transcript or magnetic recording of all testimony taken during the hearing, all exhibits offered, all plans and specifications as may have been required and a copy of the hearing officer's decision. The filing of an appeal in the District Court does not itself stay enforcement of the decision of the hearing officer, but the hearing officer may grant, or the District Court may order, such a stay upon appropriate terms.
(E) Reasonable notice of the time, place, and nature of the hearing shall be afforded to all parties. In conducting a hearing, the hearing officer shall afford all parties an opportunity for a full and fair hearing, including right to counsel and the right to call and examine witnesses, introduce exhibits and cross-examine witnesses who testify. The hearing shall not be bound by the technical rules of evidence. Notwithstanding the above, the hearing shall be conducted in an orderly manner, and the hearing officer shall exclude all irrelevant, immaterial, and unduly repetitious evidence.
(F) A nonrefundable hearing fee of $50.00 shall accompany each appeal to the hearing officer filed pursuant to this Section.
('74 Code, § 9-9-17) (Ord. 3-1983; Am. Ord. 14-1997; Am. Ord. 14-2000; Am. Ord. 38-2002)