8.60.150 Contested hearing – Procedure.
The hearing examiner shall conduct a contested violation hearing when such hearing is properly and timely requested. The city and the person or entity to whom the notice of civil violation was issued may participate in the hearing, and each party or its legal representative may call witnesses and present evidence and rebuttal, subject to the following:
A. Where not in conflict with a more specific provision of this chapter, hearings shall be conducted in accordance with CEMC Chapter 2.60;
B. The city shall have the burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence that a violation has occurred;
C. The parties are responsible for securing the appearance of any witnesses they may wish to call. Neither the city nor the hearing examiner shall have the burden of securing any witnesses on behalf of the person who is contesting the violation(s) or seeking to mitigate the penalties;
D. Formal rules of evidence shall not apply to any such hearing, and the hearing examiner shall allow hearsay testimony by the parties and not require proof of chain of custody for evidence that is presented; provided, that the hearing examiner shall determine the weight to be assigned to any evidence presented; and
E. Any notes, reports, summaries, photographs, or other materials prepared by the parties shall be admitted into evidence if requested; provided, that the parties are free to argue the weight that should be assigned by the hearing examiner to any evidence submitted.