All hearings before the Council or any commission, board, committee, or officer of the City where findings of fact are required shall be held in the manner set forth in this chapter.
(§ 1, Ord. 449, eff. March 18, 1982)
Notice of the time, date, and place of the hearing shall be mailed to all parties at least 10 days prior to the date of the hearing.
(§ 1, Ord. 449, eff. March 18, 1982)
For the purpose of such hearing, the Council may appoint any qualified Hearing Officer to take evidence and summarize the evidence presented and report the findings and recommendations based on such evidence to the Council, or the Council, board, commission, committee, or officer may itself take such evidence. The Council may adopt such other rules and procedures as it determines may be necessary by resolution.
(§ 1, Ord. 449, eff. March 18, 1982)
The following rules of evidence shall apply:
(a) 
Oral evidence shall be taken only on oath or affirmation.
(b) 
Each party shall have the following rights: to call and examine witnesses, to introduce exhibits, to crossexamine opposing witnesses covered in the direct examination, to impeach any witness, regardless of which party first called for testimony, and to rebut the evidence. If the respondent does not testify in his or her own behalf, the respondent may be called and examined as if under cross-examination.
(c) 
The hearing need not be conducted according to technical rules relating to evidence and witnesses. Any relevant evidence shall be admitted if it is the sort of evidence on which responsible persons are accustomed to rely in the conduct of serious affairs, regardless of the existence of any common law or statutory rule which might make improper admission of such evidence over an objection in civil actions. Hearsay evidence may be used for the purpose of supplementing or explaining any direct evidence but shall not be sufficient in itself to support a finding, unless it would be admissible over an objection in civil actions. The rules of privilege shall be effective to the same extent they are now or hereafter may be recognized in civil actions, and irrelevant and unduly repetitious evidence shall be excluded.
The Mayor, at the request of the issuing officer or the applicant, or their attorneys, shall issue subpoenas or subpoenas duces tecum to compel the attendance of witnesses at such hearings.
(§ 1, Ord. 449, eff. March 18, 1982)