Any person who requests a hearing shall be given written notice of the date, time and place for the hearing. Such hearing shall be held not less than 15 days nor more than 30 days from the date of the mailing of the notice, provided that the hearing officer shall grant, upon good cause shown, any reasonable request by any interested party for postponement or continuance. An original or certified copy of the citation shall be filed at the hearing. The presence of the Code Enforcement Officer shall be required at the hearing if requested by the person who was issued the citation. A person wishing to contest liability shall appear at the hearing and may present evidence in his or her behalf. The person contesting liability has a right to due process and shall be provided fair opportunity to present evidence to the hearing officer. The person contesting liability may be represented by counsel. The Code Enforcement Officer may present evidence on behalf of the municipality. If the person who received the citation fails to appear, the hearing officer may enter an assessment by default against him or her upon a finding of proper notice and liability under the applicable provisions of the regulations and upon a finding of the number of days that each violation occurred. The hearing officer may accept written information by mail from the person who received the citation and may determine thereby that the appearance of such person is unnecessary. The hearing officer shall conduct the hearing in the order and from and with such methods of proof as he or she deems fair and appropriate. The rules regarding the admissibility of evidence shall not be strictly applied, but all testimony shall be given under oath or affirmation. The hearing officer shall announce his or her decision at the end of the hearing. If the hearing officer determines that the person who received the citation is not liable, the hearing officer shall dismiss the matter and enter that determination accordingly. If the hearing officer determines that the person who received the citation is liable for the violation, the hearing officer shall forthwith enter and assess the fines against such person as provided by this chapter.