A user who believes it is aggrieved of the actions of the County Agency in enforcing this chapter may appeal to the Director for the relief of that grievance. An appeal shall be made as follows:
(a) Appeal Request.
(1) The appeal request must be in writing, directed to the Director and received by the Director within twenty days of the decision or act that is the subject of the appeal. The appeal request shall be made in triplicate, and shall set forth the specific act or matter complained of and in dispute. Additionally, the appeal request shall include all documentation which supports the appellant’s position.
(2) The Director or his designee shall, within thirty business days of receipt of a written appeal request, acknowledge such receipt in writing to all interested parties. Thereafter, the Director or his designee shall arrange for a hearing to be held in accordance with subsection (c) hereof, or, if appropriate, direct a representative of the Industrial Pretreatment Program Section of the County Agency (IPP Representative) to schedule a conciliation meeting with the appellant, as soon as practicable, at the mutual convenience of the parties, to resolve the dispute.
(b) Conciliation Meeting.
(1) If a conciliation meeting is held, it shall be open to all interested parties and their representatives. The meeting, if necessary, may be adjourned to a mutually acceptable date or dates.
(2) If the appellant or IPP representative determines that the dispute cannot be resolved through the conciliation meeting process, the parties shall so inform the Director in writing and request a hearing in accordance with subsection (c) hereof. If future conciliation meetings are no longer needed, the Agency head, or his or her designee, shall so notify the parties involved and issue a decision within fifteen days, in writing, by mail, to the interested parties to the dispute.
(3) If it is determined by all interested parties and the IPP representative that the dispute has been satisfactorily resolved through the conciliation meeting process hereto, within thirty days of the last conciliation meeting, the IPP representative shall reduce such resolution to the form of a written agreement or order for signature by the interested parties
(c) Hearing Procedure.
(1) In the event a hearing is required pursuant to subsection (a) or paragraph (b)(2) hereof, the Director shall promptly appoint a disinterested hearing officer of suitable qualifications to conduct an administrative hearing and to receive testimony and evidence presented by the aggrieved party. The hearing officer shall also receive testimony and evidence from the County or others as he or she deems necessary.
(2) The hearing officer shall conduct the hearing and file a written report of said hearing with the Director within thirty days of his or her appointment. The hearing officer shall have the right to extend this thirty-day period for good cause. However, in such event, his or her report will be submitted to the Director within fifteen days of the conclusion of the hearing and the taking of testimony and evidence.
(3) The hearing officer’s report shall include a brief statement of factual matters at issue, the nature of the testimony and evidence received and shall include a recommendation to either uphold or modify the decision or action in question on such terms as the hearing officer deems equitable.
(4) Upon receipt of the hearing officer’s report, the Director shall render his or her decision in writing within fifteen days of the receipt of the report. In any event, the Director shall not be bound by the recommendation of the hearing officer. The decision of the Director shall be final and enforceable at law, unless the appeal involves a citation and a subsequent appeal is made within sixty days and the County Commission grants a review of the Director's decision. After the review, the County Commission may affirm, dismiss, or modify the Director's decision. The decision of the County Commission shall be final.
A person or municipality aggrieved by a final decision of the Director or the County Commission may petition to the Wayne County Circuit Court for judicial review. The petition shall be filed not later than sixty days following the receipt of the final decision. An aggrieved person or municipality shall exhaust all administrative remedies provided in this section before seeking judicial review.
(5) With respect to the hearing conducted, the hearing officer shall not be bound strictly by the rules of evidence which would apply in a court of competent jurisdiction. The hearing officer shall have the authority to receive such evidence as he or she deems relevant and material and to give the evidence as is received such weight and probative value as, in the hearing officer's discretion, is deemed proper.
(Ord. 712. Passed 2-14-01.)