(a) A Board of Review, consisting of three members, a chairman and two other individuals, to be appointed by the Mayor and approved by Council, is hereby created and shall be maintained to hear appeals. A majority of the members of the Board shall constitute a quorum. The Board shall adopt its own procedural rules and shall keep a record of its transactions. Any hearing by the Board shall be conducted privately and the provisions of Section 179.09 with reference to the confidential character of information required to be disclosed by the chapter shall apply to such matters as may be heard before the Board on appeal.
(b) All rules and regulations and amendments or changes thereto which are adopted by the Commissioner under the authority conferred by this chapter, must be approved by the Board of Review before the same becomes effective. After such approval, such rules, regulations, amendments and changes shall be filed with the Clerk of Council and shall be open to public inspection. The Board shall hear and pass on appeals from any ruling or decision of the Commissioner, and, at the request of the taxpayer or Commissioner, is empowered to substitute alternate methods of apportionment.
(c) Whenever the Commissioner issues a decision regarding an income tax obligation that is subject to appeal as provided in this section, or in an ordinance or regulation of the Municipality, the Commissioner shall notify the taxpayer in writing at the same time of the taxpayer's right to appeal the decision and of the manner in which the taxpayer may appeal the decision.
(d) Any person who is aggrieved by a decision by the Commissioner and who has filed with the Municipality the required returns or other documents pertaining to the municipal income tax obligation at issue in the decision may appeal the decision to the Board of Review 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 thirty (30) days after the Commissioner has issued the decision.
(e) The imposition of penalty and interest as prescribed in the Codified Ordinances of the Municipality is not a sole basis for appeal.
(f) The Board of Review shall schedule a hearing within forty-five (45) days after receiving the request, unless the taxpayer waives a hearing. If the taxpayer does not waive the hearing, the taxpayer may appear before the Board and may be represented by an attorney at law, certified public accountant or other representative.
(g) The Board may affirm, reverse, or modify the Commissioner's decision or any part of that decision. The Board shall issue a decision on the appeal within ninety (90) days after the Board's final hearing on the appeal, and send notice of its final decision by ordinary mail to all of the parties to the appeal within fifteen (15) days after issuing the decision. The taxpayer or the Commissioner may appeal the Board's decision as provided in Section 5717.011 of the Ohio Revised Code.
(h) Each Board of Review created pursuant to this section shall adopt rules governing its procedures and shall keep a record of its transactions. Such records are not public records available for inspection under Section 149.43 of the Ohio Revised Code. Hearings requested by a taxpayer before a Board of Review created pursuant to this section are not meetings of a public body subject to Section 121.22 of the Ohio Revised Code.
(Ord. 38-03. Passed 12-23-03.)