a. An alarm user may appeal a false alarm determination and/or assessment of a service fee by filing a written notice of appeal to the alarm coordinator within five business days of receipt of the notice that a service fee(s) has been assessed.
1. The notice of appeal must state the date of the alarm being disputed and the reasons why the alarm user believes the false alarm determination to be incorrect.
2. The alarm coordinator will make a determination in writing within five business days of receipt of the notice of appeal.
3. The determination of the alarm coordinator may be appealed to the Fire Chief if the appeal is made in writing within five (5) business days of receipt of the alarm coordinator's findings. If the Fire Chief determines that 5 or more false alarms have occurred during the calendar year at the alarm site, the alarm permit shall be revoked unless the false alarm fee(s) are paid. The decision of the Fire Chief is final.
b. Except for revocations following an appeal as provided in subsection a of this section, an alarm user may appeal the suspension or revocation of an alarm permit to the Fire Chief by filing a written request for a hearing within ten (10) days of receipt of the notification of the suspension or revocation of the alarm permit.
1. If a hearing before the Fire Chief is requested, the alarm coordinator shall notify the alarm user by certified mail of the time and place of the hearing at least five (5) days prior to the hearing date. The hearing date shall not be less than ten (10) days after the filing of the request for a hearing.
2. At the hearing, the alarm user may present written and oral evidence as to the reasons the alarm permit should not be suspended or revoked. The formal rules of evidence do not apply at an appeal hearing.
3. The Fire Chief shall make a decision to uphold or overturn the suspension or revocation based upon a preponderance of the evidence presented at the hearing. If the suspension or revocation is upheld, the alarm user may apply for reinstatement of the alarm permit as provided for under Section 40-87 of this article.
c. Except for any matter properly appealed under subsection a or b of this section, all administrative actions may be appealed to the City Manager or the City Manager's designated representative(s) by giving written notice of such appeal to the City Manager's office within ten (10) days of the action being appealed. The decision of the City Manager or representative(s) shall be final.