(a) If the alarm administrator assesses a fee under section 7-475 or denies the issuance, renewal, or reinstatement of an alarm registration, the alarm administrator shall send written notice of the action and a statement of the right to an appeal to either the affected applicant or alarm user or proprietor alarm owner.
(b) The alarm user or proprietor alarm owner may appeal an assessment of a fee or the suspension of an alarm registration by setting forth in writing the reasons for the appeal to the alarm. The appeal must be filed with the administrator within ten (10) business days after receipt of the assessment or notice of suspension.
(c) The alarm administrator shall, within five (5) business days of a notice of appeal, provide the finance director with notice of the appeal. The finance director shall forward the appeal to the zoning examiner who shall, within a period of thirty (30) days from receipt of the notice of appeal from the alarm administrator, hear the appeal and the facts as presented by the appellant and the alarm administrator, affording both parties a reasonable and equal amount of time for the presentation of facts, evidence, and the questioning and cross-examination of witnesses. The hearing shall be conducted in an informal manner and the Arizona rules of evidence shall not apply. Within ten (10) business days of the hearing, the hearing officer shall render a final, written decision affirming or reversing the decision of the alarm administrator.
(d) Filing of a notice of appeal shall stay the action by the alarm administrator suspending an alarm permit or requiring payment of the assessment, until the hearing officer has rendered a decision. If a request for an appeal to the finance director is not made within the required ten (10) business day period, the action of the alarm administrator is final.
(e) The alarm administrator may adjust the count of false alarms based on reasonable evidence including but not limited to: (1) a false alarm was caused by an act of god; (2) a false alarm was caused by action of the telephone company; (3) a false alarm was caused by a power outage lasting longer than four (4) hours; and/or (4) the alarm dispatch request was not a false alarm.
(Ord. No. 10967, § 5, 2-28-12, eff. 4-1-12)