(a) A Board of Review, consisting of the three members of the Finance and Budget Committee of Council is created by this chapter. The members of the Board of Review shall serve without compensation.
(b) A majority of the Board of Review shall constitute a quorum. The Board of Review shall adopt its own procedural rules and shall keep a record of its meetings, business and transactions for its hearings and meetings.
(c) All hearings and meetings of the Board of Review shall be conducted privately and the provisions of Section 193.09 with reference to the confidential character of information and documentation required to be disclosed by this chapter shall apply to such matters. The hearing or meeting will be informal in nature and the rules of evidence and procedure shall not apply.
(d) Any taxpayer dissatisfied with any ruling or decision of the Finance Director which was made under the authority conferred by this chapter and who or which is otherwise in compliance with the filing of tax returns and the payment of any taxes, penalties or interest due thereon, who has filed the required returns or other documents pertaining to the contested issued, may appeal therefrom to the Board of Review. This appeal must be in writing, shall state with particularity why the decision should be deemed incorrect or unlawful, and shall be filed within thirty (30) days after the Finance Director has issued the decision. The Board must schedule a hearing within forty-five (45) calendar days of receiving the appeal unless the taxpayer expressly waives the hearing and chooses instead to permit the Board to render its decision on the writings submitted by the taxpayer and the Finance Director. If the taxpayer does not waive the hearing, the taxpayer is entitled to appear before the Board and bring representation of his or her choosing. The records of the hearing are not open to the public nor is the hearing subject to the local or state open meeting laws. The Board must issue a written decision within ninety (90) days after the final hearing and send a notice of its decision to the taxpayer within fifteen (15) days after issuing its decision. (ORC 718.11)
(e) Whenever the Finance Director issues a decision that is appealable to the Board of Review, he or she must inform the taxpayer of their right of appeal and the manner in which the appeal is to be filed. (ORC 718.11; Ord. 135-04. Passed 12-6-04.)