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If the mayor, superintendent of police, or the comptroller, the commissioner of business affairs and consumer protection, the city clerk or their duly authorized enforcement officer shall have a reasonable basis for believing any amusement device is an illegal amusement device, said device or any part or contents thereof may be seized by any duly authorized enforcement official, followed by an administrative hearing with notice to the owner within seven days of such seizure for the purpose of reviewing the appropriateness of the seizure, and held until such time as the owner of such device pays the delinquent tax, reimburses the department of finance, business affairs and consumer protection or the city clerk for actual cartage cost incurred in the seizure and pays to the department of finance, business affairs and consumer protection or the city clerk $20.00 for each day or part of day said device has been in storage. If criminal charges involving the use or condition of the device are pending, the device shall be held until disposition of the criminal charges. If it is determined at the hearing by a preponderance of the evidence that the seized device is not an illegal amusement device, it shall be returned to the owner without charge. If it is determined at the hearing that the automatic amusement device was used for illegal gambling, it shall be destroyed by the city, and all money found within the device at the time of confiscation shall become the property of the city, and shall be used to defray the costs of cartage, notice, storage and hearings. If the owner of the device does not claim the automatic amusement device within 14 days after the mailing of the notice, the device and its contents will be treated as abandoned property and the device will be destroyed.
(Added Coun. J. 12-9-92, p. 25465; Amend Coun. J. 4-1-98, p. 65262; Amend Coun. J. 7-27-05, p. 53211, § 1; Amend Coun. J. 11-19-08, p. 47220, Art. V, § 5; Amend Coun. J. 6-30-09, p. 65579, § 3; Amend Coun. J. 11-16-11, p. 13798, Art. I, § 4)