(a) A Utility Appeals Board to be appointed by the Council of the City of Hamilton, Ohio, consisting of five (5) members who are all residents of the City is hereby created as follows:
(1) One (1) member of the City's Public Utilities Commission;
(2) One (1) private citizen;
(3) One (1) small business owner, which business shall be located within the City of Hamilton. Ohio; and
(4) Two members of the City's Administration to be appointed by the City Manager.
The members of the Utility Appeals Board shall be appointed for a term of three (3) years; however, two (2) members of the first Board of Review shall be appointed for one {1) year, two (2) members shall be appointed for two (2) years, and one (1) member shall be appointed for three (3) years. When necessary and subject to prior approval of the City Council, the members of the Board may name alternates who must be residents of the City. A majority of the members of the Board shall constitute a quorum. Each Utility Appeals Board created pursuant to this section shall adopt rules governing its procedures and shall keep a record of its transactions. Such records are public records available for inspection under Section 149.43 of the Ohio Revised Code. Hearings requested by a utility account holder before a Board of Review created pursuant to this section are meetings of a public body subject to Section 121.22 of the Ohio Revised Code.
(b) Any person who is aggrieved by a decision of a Utility Director or the Director of Finance regarding an earlier appeal may appeal that decision to the Utility Appeals Board by filing a request with the Board. The request shall be in writing, shall state with particularity why the decision should be deemed incorrect or unlawful, and shall be filed within ten (10) days after the date of the decision of the appropriate Director about which the customer takes the second appeal to the Board.
(c) Safety issues as determined by the Director of Utility Operations or any individual utility Director will not be the basis for an appeal before the City of Hamilton Utilities Appeals Board.
(d) The inability to pay for the utility services as prescribed by the codified ordinances of the City of Hamilton is not a basis for an appeal.
(e) Such Utility Appeals Board shall be granted the authority to adjust billing and penalty when it deems just and reasonable, including but not limited to permitting a variance in the billing when the Board determines that special conditions exist which require such deviation. The Board shall meet from time to time and shall hear the appeals and consider the billing complaints from utility customers.
(f) The Utility Appeals Board shall schedule a hearing within thirty (30) days after receiving the request, unless the customer making the request waives a hearing.
(g) If the customer making the request does not waive the hearing, he/she may appear before the Utility Appeals Board and may be represented by a representative of his/her choosing.
(h) The Board may affirm, reverse, or modify the decision on the appeal made by the Utility or Finance Director or any part of that decision. The Utility Appeals Board shall issue a decision on the appeal within fourteen (14) days after the Board's Final Hearing on the appeal, and send notice of its decision by ordinary mail to the petitioner within five (5) days after issuing the decision.
(i) The decision of the Utility Appeal Board shall be final.
(Ord. 2012-7-54. Passed 7-3-12.)