(A) There shall be a Board of Appeals which shall consist of three members, one of which shall be appointed by the Mayor, one of which shall be appointed by the City Treasurer, and one of which shall be appointed by both the Mayor and the City Treasurer. Members of the Board of Appeals shall be appointed for terms of three years, so arranged that one member’s term shall expire on July 1 of each year. Any vacancy which shall occur in a regular term shall be filled for the unexpired portion of such term. Board members shall serve without compensation.
(B) A majority of the members of the Board shall constitute a quorum. The Board shall adopt its own procedural rules and keep a record of its transactions. All hearings by the Board shall be conducted privately unless the taxpayer requests a public hearing, and the provisions of § 95.09(E) of this subchapter with reference to the confidential character of information required to be disclosed by this subchapter shall apply to such matters as may be heard before the Board on appeal.
(C) (1) Any person who is aggrieved by a decision of the Tax Administrator and who has filed with the city the required returns or other documents pertaining to the municipal income tax obligation at issue in the decision, and made payment, may appeal the decision to the City Treasurer within 30 days.
(2) Whenever the City Treasurer issues a decision regarding an income tax obligation that is subject to appeal as provided in this section, or in an ordinance or regulation of the city, the City Treasurer shall notify the taxpayer in writing at the same time as the taxpayer’s right to appeal the decision and of the manner in which the taxpayer may appeal the decision.
(3) The request shall be in writing, shall state with particularity why the decision should be deemed incorrect or unlawful, and shall be filed within 30 days after the City Treasurer has issued the decision.
(4) The imposition of penalty and interest as prescribed in the Codified Ordinances of the city is not a sound basis for an appeal.
(5) The Appeals Board shall schedule a hearing within 45 days after receiving the request, unless the taxpayer waives the hearing.
(6) If the taxpayer does not waive the hearing, the taxpayer may appear before the Appeals Board and may be represented at any conference or appeal by an attorney, a Certified Public Accountant, employee of the taxpayer, or other representative.
(D) The Appeals Board may affirm, reverse, or modify the City Treasurer’s decision or any part of that decision. The Appeals Board shall issue a decision on the appeal within 90 days after the Appeals Board final hearing on the appeal, and send notice of its decision by ordinary mail to the taxpayer within 15 days after issuing the decision. The taxpayer or the Tax Administrator may appeal the Board’s decision as provided in § 5717.011 of the Ohio Revised Code.
(E) The Appeals Board shall adopt rules governing its procedures and shall keep a record of its transactions. Such records are not public records available for inspection under § 149.43 of the Ohio Revised Code. A hearing before the Appeals Board created pursuant to this section requested by a taxpayer is not a meeting of a public body and is not subject to § 121.22 of the Ohio Revised Code.
(Ord. 1-05, passed 1-24-05)