§ 14-88. Appeal

(a) Appeals pursuant to this chapter shall be heard by an independent hearing officer.

(b) Any appeal shall be filed with the city manager within ten (10) calendar days following the service of the invoice on the responsible person. The appeal shall be in writing and shall state the grounds for the appeal. The appeal shall be accompanied by the amount owed under the invoice, as well as the fee required for the taking of the appeal, which fee shall be set by city council resolution. The city manager shall have the discretion to waive or modify the amount to be deposited prior to the appeal if the responsible person demonstrates by clear and convincing evidence that depositing the full amount would result in a substantial hardship.

(c) The city manager shall set the matter for a de novo hearing before the hearing officer at a date and time not less than ten (10), nor more than forty-five (45) calendar days following the filing of the appeal. The city manager shall then notify the appellant by mail of the date and time of the hearing on appeal. The city manager may, in his/her discretion, continue the hearing date for good cause.

(d) To allow appellants the opportunity to fully present their arguments, the formal rules of evidence shall not apply and all relevant evidence may be considered. However, the hearing officer shall have the discretion to exclude irrelevant evidence, i.e., evidence that does not pertain to the issue(s) on appeal. The hearing officer also has the discretion to exclude evidence it deems needlessly repetitive.

(e) The hearing officer's decision shall issue in writing within five (5) business days of the hearing, and shall be final. The decision shall include reference to Sections 1094.5 and 1094.6 of the Code of Civil Procedure.

(Ord. No. 14-01, § 1, 1-7-14 )