.010 Hearings shall be conducted by the Hearing Officer at a time, date and location set by the Hearing Officer, which date shall be at least ten (10) days but not more than thirty (30) days after the date upon which the citee requests an administrative review, accompanied by the fine deposit, unless otherwise agreed to by the citee and the Hearing Officer. The citee shall be given at least ten (10) days advance notice of such hearing date.
.020 The Manager shall ensure that the pertinent citation records for a citation set for hearing are delivered to the Hearing Officer. Before the hearing, the Manager shall also make available to the citee a copy of any additional reports concerning the citation that are provided to the Hearing Officer.
.030 The citee shall be given the opportunity to testify and to present evidence relevant to the alleged violation(s) specified in the citation, and/or mitigating circumstances warranting a waiver of or imposition of a lesser fine, and/or any other evidence relevant to the decision as determined by the Hearing Officer. A parent, guardian or legal representative must accompany any citee who is under 18 years of age at the hearing, or any request or contest shall be deemed abandoned.
.040 The citation and any other reports prepared by the Code Enforcement Officer, or prepared at his or her request, concerning the Code violation shall be accepted by the Hearing Officer as prima facie evidence of the code violation and the facts stated in such documents.
.050 Neither the Code Enforcement Officer nor any other representative of the city shall be required to attend the hearing, nor shall the Hearing Officer require that there be submitted any evidence of the violation, other than the citation, that may exist among the public records of the city. However, any such appearance and/or submission may be made at the discretion of the Code Enforcement Officer or any city employee or agent.
.060 The Hearing Officer may continue a hearing if a request is made by the citee, or the citee's representative, or the representative of the city, upon a showing of good cause. All continuance requests shall either: (i) be made in person at the hearing, or (ii) be made by a written request received by the Hearing Officer at least twenty-four (24) hours before the scheduled time of the hearing. If the continuance is granted, a new hearing date shall be set for a date not later than fifteen (15) days after the previously scheduled hearing date, unless otherwise mutually agreed by the citee and the Manager. If the continuance is denied, the hearing shall proceed as scheduled and, if the citee is not present, the request shall be deemed abandoned in accordance with subsection .080 below. The decision on the continuance request is final, and the notice shall either be delivered personally to the citee or the representative if present, or be mailed by the Department. If the request for continuance is not made in person, the citee is responsible for determining whether the request is denied and the hearing is to proceed as scheduled.
.070 The hearing shall be conducted informally and the legal rules of evidence need not be followed. Each party shall have an opportunity present evidence and witnesses in support of his or her case. The City bears the burden of proof to establish a violation of the Code. The citation is prima facie evidence of the violation, and the Enforcement Officer who issued the citation is not required to participate in the hearing. The Hearing Officer shall use preponderance of the evidence as the standard of evidence in deciding the issues. The Hearing Officer shall not have the authority to issue subpoenas.
.080 The failure of the citee to appear at the hearing, unless the hearing was continued to another date pursuant to subsection .060 above, shall constitute an abandonment of the request for waiver of the fine deposit and/or administrative review, and a failure to exhaust administrative remedies concerning the violation as set forth in the citation. The fine deposit shall be credited by the City to the fine due for the violation. The citee's failure to appear shall be noted on the notice of decision by the Hearing Officer, and it shall be mailed to the citee.
.090 The Hearing Officer's continued employment, performance evaluation, compensation, and benefits shall not be linked, directly or indirectly, to the number of citations upheld or canceled by such Hearing Officer. (Ord. 5930 1 (part); July 27, 2004.)