(A) The administrative hearing shall be conducted by a Hearing Officer who shall be an attorney licensed to practice law in the State of Illinois for at least three years.
(B) Administrative hearing procedures shall be as follows.
(1) On the date of the initial hearing, the owner, any lessee and any lienholder of record shall appear and either admit or deny probable cause for the seizure and impound of the vehicle. If an admission is entered, or if the owner, any lessee and any lienholder of record fail to appear, the case shall be disposed of at that time, with an order/default order in favor of the village, which order/default order shall require the payment to the village of the $500 administrative fee and towing and storage costs to the applicable tow company, and the continued impound of the motor vehicle until the owner of record, any lessee or lienholder of record pays to the village the $500 administrative fee and towing and storage costs to the applicable towing company. If the owner of record, any lessee or any lienholder of record enters a denial, an evidentiary hearing shall be scheduled.
(2) All parties shall be given a reasonable opportunity to present testimony and evidence at the hearing. Continuances of the hearing date must be made in person before the Hearing Officer and may be granted upon a showing of good cause. The formal rules of evidence will not apply at the hearing, and hearsay evidence shall be admissible, subject to the discretion of the Hearing Officer.
(3) The original or a legible copy of the charging document signed by the village officer certifying to the correctness of the information contained therein shall be prima facie evidence of the facts specified therein.
(4) If the Hearing Officer determines by a preponderance of evidence that the seizure and impound was proper, the Hearing Officer shall enter a final order finding the owner of the vehicle liable to the village for the administrative and public safety fee in the amount of $500. In the event a bond was posted, it will be retained by the village as final payment of the administrative and public safety fee. If the Hearing Officer determines by a preponderance of evidence that the seizure and impound was not proper, the Hearing Officer shall enter a final order for the return of the vehicle or the bond. A finding that the seizure and impound was not proper shall not have any bearing on whether the owner is obligated to pay the towing and storage fees and costs, and the owner must pay all fees and costs owed to the private towing company.
(5) The decision by the Hearing Officer on the issue of whether the seizure and impound was proper, shall constitute a final determination for purposes of judicial review and shall be subject to review pursuant to the Illinois Administrative Review Act, 735 ILCS 5/3-101 et seq., as now or hereafter amended. A party must exhaust its administrative remedies prior to seeking judicial review.
(C) Any owner, lessee or lienholder may waive, in writing, his, her or their right to a hearing.
(Ord. 2010-01-02, passed 1-19-2010; Ord. 2012-02-02, passed 2-6-2012)