(a) A vehicle owner determined by a hearing officer at an administrative adjudication hearing to be liable for a school bus stop arm violation may appeal this determination to the municipal court by filing an appeal petition, along with a filing fee of $15, with the municipal court clerk or a deputy clerk before the 31st calendar day after the date the hearing officer’s order is entered with the department. If the hearing officer’s order is reversed, the $15 filing fee will be returned by the city to the appellant.
(b) Upon receipt of an appeal petition, the municipal court clerk or deputy clerk shall schedule an appeal hearing and notify all parties of the date, time, and location of the hearing. The enforcement officer or other authorized person who issued the civil school bus stop arm citation is not required to be present at the appeal hearing unless requested by the vehicle owner charged. A vehicle owner’s request to have the enforcement officer, or other authorized person who issued the citation, present at the appeal hearing must be in writing and made as part of the appeal petition. Failure to timely make this request constitutes a waiver of the vehicle owner’s right to require the presence of the enforcement officer or other authorized person at the appeal hearing.
(c) The appeal hearing must be a trial de novo in municipal court and is a civil proceeding. The decision of the municipal court is final.
(d) Service of notice of appeal under this section stays the enforcement and collection of any civil fines, penalties, and costs ordered by the hearing officer. An appeal petition must be accompanied by a notarized statement in which the vehicle owner agrees to pay all civil fines, penalties, and costs ordered by the hearing officer, if the person is still found liable by the municipal court upon appeal.
(e) At an appeal hearing, the civil school bus stop arm citation and the recorded images produced by the photographic school bus stop arm enforcement system are prima facie proof of the school bus stop arm violation, and the enforcement officer or other authorized person who issued the citation is not required to be present unless requested by the vehicle owner.
(f) At an appeal hearing, the reliability of the photographic school bus stop arm enforcement system used to produce the recorded images of the school bus stop arm violation may be attested to by affidavit of an officer or employee of the city, or of the entity with which the city contracts to install or operate the system, who is responsible for inspecting and maintaining the system. An affidavit of an officer or employee of the city that alleges a school bus stop violation based on an inspection of the pertinent recorded images is admissible in a proceeding under this article, is evidence of the facts contained in the affidavit, and is prima facie evidence of the violation alleged in the school bus stop arm citation. (Ord. 28654)