A liquor license may be revoked or suspended and/or a fine imposed by the liquor commissioner only after a public hearing as follows:
A. Hearing Required; Notice: No license shall be revoked or suspended, nor shall a fine be imposed, except after a public hearing with a three (3) day written notice to the licensee affording the licensee an opportunity to appear and defend. The public hearing shall be held by the liquor commissioner.
B. Appeals: The licensee, after the receipt of such order of suspension or revocation, has the right of appealing the order to the state liquor control commission for a decision sustaining, reversing or modifying the order of the liquor commissioner. If the state liquor control commission confirms the liquor commissioner's order to suspend or revoke the license at the first hearing, the appellant shall cease to engage in the business for which the license was issued until the liquor commissioner's order is terminated by his own provisions or reversed upon a rehearing or by the courts.
C. Procedures:
1. The licensee shall at all times be afforded due process including the right to subpoena witnesses in his own behalf, the right to hear witnesses and evidence given against him, the right to counsel, the right to cross examination, and the right to demand a written specification of charges against him in advance of the hearing.
2. Witnesses shall be sworn, but in all other respects, the hearings shall be informal, and strict rules of evidence shall not apply.
3. A certified court reporter shall, at the public hearing, take the complete record of all evidence, testimony and comments and, upon notification by the liquor commissioner, shall prepare a certified official record of the proceedings suitable for filing with the state liquor control commission and that all reviews of the proceedings of the liquor commissioner be on the record so that the state commission's scope of review is limited to those three (3) instances stated therein. The cost of taking and preparing the certified official record of the proceeding shall be shared equally between the liquor commissioner and the licensee, with payment of the licensee's share to be made to the village at or before the time the order of the liquor commissioner becomes effective; provided however, if the order, action or decision of the liquor commissioner is reversed by the state commission or a court of law, any such payment made by the licensee shall be returned.
D. False Statements Prohibited: No person shall make a false statement to the liquor commissioner, material to the issue or point in question, knowing such statement to be false. (1999 Code § 3.33)