Sec. 10-77. Appeal procedures.
A. Any party aggrieved by a decision of the Director of the Police Department or his designee made pursuant to Section 10-76 or Section 10-86.01 may, within ten days of receipt of the notice of decision, appeal by filing a notice of appeal with the hearing officer so designated by the City Manager.
B. The notice of appeal shall set forth the specific objections to the decision of the Director of the Police Department which form the basis of the appeal.
C. The hearing officer shall set a time and place for the hearing as soon as practicable.
D. The hearing proceeding shall be conducted in an informal process to determine whether there is a sufficient factual and legal basis to support the assessment of fees. The hearing officer shall not be bound by the technical rules of evidence in the conduct of such hearings, provided that the decision of the hearing officer shall in all cases be based upon substantial and reliable evidence. All parties to the hearing shall have the right to present evidence. In a hearing on an appeal filed pursuant to Section 10-76, the evidence may relate to the specific defenses listed under Section 10-76(B)(1) and the claim that another party should be solely responsible for the service fees. The burden of proof shall be at all times upon the party or parties appealing the assessment.
E. The decision of the hearing officer shall be based upon the evidence presented and it shall:
1. Affirm the assessment, in which case any service fees imposed pursuant to Section 10-76(B)(5) or Section 10-86.01(E)(6) shall be sustained; or
2. Reverse the assessment, in whole or in part, in which case no service fee or a lesser service fee shall be imposed.
F. When any part of the assessment is affirmed in appeals which are filed pursuant to Section 10-76 and which involve an alarm subscriber and alarm business permittee, the hearing officer may designate the alarm subscriber or the alarm business permittee as solely responsible for the payment of the service fees. When any part of the assessment is affirmed in appeals which are filed pursuant to Section 10-76 and which involve a proprietor alarm owner, the hearing officer shall designate the proprietor alarm owner solely responsible for payment of the service fees.
G. The decision of the hearing officer is final. (Ord. No. G-1940, § 3; Ord. No. G-2476, § 4; Ord. No. G-3344, § 10; Ord. No. G-4003, § 12, 1997; Ord. No. G-5444, § 3, 2009)