(a) There is hereby established a Board of Review, consisting of three members, residents of the City, to be appointed and approved by City Council. The members of the Board shall initially be appointed for one, two and three-year terms respectively, and thereafter shall be appointed for three-year terms. 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 may be conducted privately and the provisions of Section 890.09 with reference to the confidential character of information required to be disclosed by this chapter shall apply to such matters as may be heard before the Board on appeal. Such records of proceedings before the Board are not public records available for inspection under Ohio R.C. 149.43. Hearings requested by a taxpayer before a Board of Review created pursuant to this section are not meetings of a public body subject to Ohio R.C. 121.22. Upon consent of all parties involved in an appeal, the results may be made public.
(b) All rules and regulations and amendments or changes thereto, which are adopted by the Commissioner of Taxation under the authority conferred by this chapter, must be approved by the Board before the same become 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 of Taxation, and, at the request of the taxpayer or Commissioner of Taxation, is hereby empowered to substitute alternate methods of allocation.
(c) Whenever the Commissioner of Taxation 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 City of Trenton, the Commissioner of Taxation shall notify the taxpayer 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 dissatisfied with any ruling or decision of the Commissioner of Taxation, which is made under the authority conferred by this chapter, may appeal therefrom to the Board in writing within thirty days from the announcement of such ruling or decision by the Commissioner of Taxation. The Board shall, on hearing, have jurisdiction to affirm, reverse or modify any such ruling or decision, or any part thereof.
(e) The imposition of penalty and interest as prescribed in this chapter is not a sole basis for an appeal.
(f) The Board of Review shall schedule a hearing within forty-five days after receiving the request, unless the taxpayer waives a hearing.
(g) 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.
(h) The Board shall issue a decision on the appeal within forty-five days after the Board’s final hearing on the appeal, and send notice of its decision by ordinary mail to the petitioner and Commissioner of Taxation within fifteen days after issuing the decision.
(i) The taxpayer or Commissioner of Taxation may appeal the decision by the Board of Review to the courts or to the State Board of Tax Appeals as defined in Ohio R.C. 5717.011.
(Ord. 05-2014. Passed 3-6-14.)