Administrative hearing officers shall preside over adjudicatory administrative hearings. The authority of an administrative hearing officer shall encompass all acts necessary to conduct fair and impartial adjudicatory hearings, including, but not limited to:
A. Hearing testimony and accepting evidence that is relevant to the existence of the Code violation.
B. Administering oaths and affirmations to witnesses.
C. At the request of any party or on the administrative hearing officer's own motion, issuing subpoenas for the attendance of relevant witnesses and/or the production of relevant books, records, or other information. Subpoena issuance shall be at the discretion of the administrative hearing officer, where it is determined that the requested witness or document is material to the defense of the allegations and does not constitute a needless presentation and that the elements of the defense sought to be proved could not otherwise be established without the production of the requested evidence.
D. Preserving and authenticating the record of the hearing, including all exhibits and evidence admitted into the record at the hearing.
E. Holding conferences for settlement or simplification of issues.
F. Dismiss with or without costs, cases in which the respondent has demonstrated abatement and compliance prior to his/her first appearance.
G. Promulgate rules and regulations for the conduct of administrative hearings.
H. Ruling on objections, motions and admissibility of evidence.
I. Issuing a determination based upon a review of the notice of violation, citation, other charging document (hereinafter, "charging document") and on the evidence admitted, which determination shall be final for purposes of judicial review under the Illinois Administrative Review Act. The determination shall be in writing, shall be signed by the administrative hearing officer, shall be designated as findings, decision, and order, and shall include the fine, penalty or action with which the respondent must comply.
J. Upon finding a respondent liable for violating one or more charged Code provisions:
1. Imposing penalties as provided by the governing penalty provision, except, however, that in no event shall an administrative hearing officer have authority to:
a. Impose a penalty of incarceration; or
b. Impose a fine in excess of $50,000.00, excluding allowable costs.
2. Each day a Code provision is found to have been violated by the respondent shall constitute a separate offense, and each separate offense subjects the respondent to the penalty provided by the governing penalty provision.
3. Imposing, in addition to fines, administrative and/or enforcement costs and, when applicable, imposing costs incurred by the village for effecting compliance with Code provision(s) for which a respondent has been found liable.
4. Ordering, regardless of fines imposed or costs assessed, the respondent to perform a term of community service.
K. Adhering to the policies, procedures, and legislation set forth in this Code, except where discretion is specifically vested in the administrative hearing officer. However, an administrative hearing officer is authorized to waive the fine and/or costs that otherwise would be imposed upon finding a respondent liable for one or more Code violations when the administrative hearing officer specifically finds that the violation(s) occurred under such circumstances that a reasonable person would believe to constitute an excuse, explanation or justification for the violation(s).
L. Asking all questions of the parties and witnesses, if necessary, to ensure the clarity and completeness of the testimony and the record. A party or witness desiring clarification of a point in the hearing shall direct the matter to the administrative hearing officer, who retains sole discretion as to whether and to what extent to pursue the point to be clarified.
M. Regulating the course of the hearing in accordance with this chapter, the rules adopted by the administrative hearings' supervisor for the conduct of administrative hearings, and other applicable law. (Ord. 23-2060, 1-24-2023)