(A) If an applicant for a certificate of operation or an ambulance permit or a permitee is dissatisfied with any of the actions taken by the Agency, he/she may request an administrative hearing.
(B) The request for an administrative hearing must be filed within 15 business days of the date of the notice. The hearing must be held within 30 business days of receipt of the request.
(C) The hearing shall be held at an Agency designated location. The Agency shall mail to the claimant a written notice of the time and place of the hearing no less than five days prior to the hearing.
(D) Hearings conducted pursuant to this chapter shall be conducted before a hearing officer designated by the Agency. All hearings shall be electronically recorded. Hearings need not be conducted according to the California Code of Evidence. Hearsay evidence may be used for the purpose of supplementing or explaining any direct evidence, but shall not be sufficient in itself to support a finding unless it would be admissible over objection in civil actions in courts of competent jurisdiction in this state. Any relevant evidence shall be admitted if it is the type of evidence on which reasonable persons are accustomed to rely in the conduct of serious affairs, regardless of the existence of any common law or statutory rule which might make improper the admission of such evidence over objection in civil actions in courts of competent jurisdiction in this state. Irrelevant and unduly repetitious evidence shall be excluded. The parties shall equally bear the expense of the Hearing Officer and the cost of the hearing. Each party shall bear its own expense.
(E) At the hearing, the Agency has the burden of proof and may present evidence as to why such action should be taken and to answer the evidence presented by the permittee.
(F) A written decision by the hearing officer shall be issued within ten business days and notice given by mail. Service of the decision shall be deemed complete at the time deposited in the mail.
(Ord. 923, § 2 (part), 2014)