(A) (1) Every applicant, denied assistance, will be informed in writing of the Director’s decision, and of the applicant’s right to appeal such decision to the Board of Supervisors. The applicant will be informed:
(a) Of the method by which an appeal may be taken; and
(b) He or she may represent himself or herself, or may be represented by an attorney, at the applicant’s expense.
(2) The Director shall receive any communication to the Director by or on behalf of an applicant requesting appeal of the Director’s determination. The Director shall schedule a time on the Board of Supervisors’ agenda (in accordance with Iowa Code Chapter 21) at its next regular Board meeting; provided that, such appeal shall not be heard sooner than five working days after appeal is taken. The written appeal or communication must be submitted to the Director within ten days of the Director’s determination. The appeal must contain the applicant’s current address and telephone number and state the reasons for the appeal. The applicant will be informed immediately, by telephone, if possible, and by ordinary mail, of the date and time of the hearing before the Board of Supervisors. The applicant and the applicant’s attorney, upon written authorization, shall be granted access by the Director to his or her relief case file if request is made.
(B) (1) The Board of Supervisors will hear the applicant’s appeal de novo, at the time scheduled in the agenda, unless the applicant requests continuance. The applicant will be permitted to present what ever evidence desired in support of the appeal including testifying, having other witnesses testify, offering documentary evidence and reasonable cross-examination of other witnesses, if present. The technical rules of evidence will not apply. The Board may set reasonable time limits for the presentation of evidence. The applicant’s file will be admitted into evidence. The Board may question the applicant. The Director will present the Board with the reasons for the determination. The appeal will be tape-recorded. The hearing before the Board will be at a closed meeting in accordance with Iowa Code Chapter 21, since the confidential files of the applicant will be in evidence. When the Board deliberates on the appeal, no other parties will be present.
(2) The County Board of Supervisors may decide to uphold the decision of the General Assistance Director or Assistant, or under the provisions of the Iowa Code § 252.37, “If a poor person, on application to the General Assistance Director, is refused the required assistance, the applicant may appeal to the Board of Supervisors, who, upon examination into the matter, may order the Director to provide assistance, or it may direct specific assistance.
(3) The county’s Board of Supervisors shall make a decision on the appeal within five working days. The county’s Board of Supervisors decision shall be only on the basis of the evidence submitted before the county’s Board of Supervisors. The applicant shall be informed within four working days thereafter by the county’s Board of Supervisor’s mailing its written decision to the applicant by ordinary mail. The decision shall state the reasons for the action, together with any statutes or ordinances and manual sections applied. The county’s Board of Supervisors decision shall also state that an appeal may be taken from the County Board of Supervisor’s determination, as provided below, and the method by which such appeal may be taken.
(4) An appeal to the District Court shall be allowed by the applicant from the Board’s decision within the time limits and by the manner and procedures established under the state’s Administrative Procedures Act, Iowa Code Chapter 17A.
(Ord. 37, passed - -)