(a) A Board of Tax Appeals, consisting of a chairperson and two members to be appointed by Council, is hereby created and shall be maintained to hear appeals. The members of the Board shall be appointed for a term of two years, however, the members of the first Board shall be appointed for one, two and three years respectively. 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 183.09 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 Tax Administrator 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 open to public inspection. The Board shall hear and pass on appeals from any ruling or decision of the Tax Administrator, and, at the request of the taxpayer or Tax Administrator, is empowered to substitute alternate methods of apportionment.
(c) Whenever the Tax Administrator 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 Tax Administrator 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 Tax Administrator 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 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 Tax Administrator has issued the decision.
(e) The imposition of penalty and interest as prescribed in these Codified Ordinances of the Municipality is not a sole basis for an appeal, unless the appellant can show that the charges assessed were either unlawful or incorrect.
(f) The Board 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 Tax Administrator'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 Tax Administrator may appeal the Board's decision as provided in section 5717.011 of the Ohio Revised Code.
(h) Each Board 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 created pursuant to this section are not meetings of a public body subject to section 121.22 of the Ohio Revised Code.
(Ord. 27-03. Passed 11-17-03.)