All hearings conducted under the administrative hearing system will be conducted by a Hearing Officer in accordance with the following rules and procedures.
(A) The date, time and place will be set forth in the violation notice, or such additional notices as are issued in accordance with this chapter, provided that for hearings scheduled in all non-emergency situations, if requested by the defendant, the defendant will have at least 15 days after service of process to prepare for a hearing. For purposes of this division (A),
NON-EMERGENCY SITUATION means any situation that does not reasonably constitute a threat to the public interest, safety, health or welfare. If service is provided by mail, the 15-day period begins to run on the date that the notice is deposited in the mail.
(B) The hearings will be recorded, digitally or in analog format or by other means.
(C) The parties may be represented by counsel, present witnesses and cross-examine opposing witnesses.
(D) Parties may request the Hearing Officer to issue, and the Hearing Officer has the authority to issue, subpoenas to direct the attendance and testimony of relevant witnesses and produce relevant documents.
(E) The formal and technical rules of evidence will not apply. Evidence, including hearsay, may be admitted, but only if it is of a type commonly relied upon by reasonable, prudent persons in the conduct of their affairs.
(F) Each hearing will culminate in a written determination of liability or nonliability by the Hearing Officer, or a determination of liability based upon the failure of the defendant to appear at the scheduled hearing, whichever occurs first. Upon issuance, the written determination of liability must either be personally delivered to the defendant at the time of hearing, or be mailed to the defendant via first class mail, postage prepaid, addressed to the defendant’
(G) (1) Pursuant to, and subject to the limitations set forth in § 11.05(E)(5) and (E)(7), the Hearing Officer, upon a determination of liability, has the discretion to assess fines and penalties in accordance with the code, assess interest charges for late payments and order the defendant to undertake corrective actions to remedy the violation. In addition, pursuant to, and subject to the limitations set forth in, § 11.05(E)(6), the Hearing Officer will assess administrative costs upon finding a defendant liable for the charged violation.
(2) In no event does the Hearing Officer have authority to:
(a) Impose a penalty of incarceration; or
(b) Impose a fine in excess of $50,000 for a violation.
(H) The maximum monetary fine imposed under this chapter is exclusive of administrative costs, costs of enforcement, interest charges for late payments or costs incurred by the city to secure compliance with the city’s code and ordinances. The maximum monetary fine also does not apply to cases to enforce the collection of any tax imposed and collected by the city.
(I) Hearing room personnel shall be designated and appointed by the city’s Chief of Police and are authorized and directed to:
(1) Maintain hearing room decorum;
(2) Execute authority as is granted to courtroom deputies of the Lake County Circuit Court; and
(3) Perform such other duties or acts as may reasonably be required and as directed by the Hearing Officer or the Code Enforcement Administrator.
(Ord. 2008-11, passed 4-24-2008; Ord. 2015-65, passed 11-2-2015)