The Town Board, for the Webster Sewer District, shall:
A.
Adopt within its rules a description
of its organization, stating the general course and method of operation,
and designate where applications, requests and submissions shall be
made.
B.
Adopt rules stating the nature
and requirements of all formal and informal procedures in applying
for a license or permit, requesting a hearing, and submitting or opposing
the adoption of any rule.
C.
Make all rules, orders, statements
of policy or interpretation used by the Sewer District in the discharge
of its functions available for public inspection. This provision is
not applicable in favor of any person or party who has actual knowledge
thereof.
The Town Board, for the Sewer District, prior to the adoption
of any new rules or amendment or appeal of any rule, shall:
A.
Publish notice at least 30 days
prior to the intended action. Notice shall include a statement of
either the terms or substance of the intended action or a description
of subjects and issues involved; the time and place of the hearing;
and the manner in which interested persons may present their views.
B.
Afford all interested persons
reasonable opportunity to submit data, views or argument, orally or
in writing. Reasons for adoption and/or refusal of proposed rules
as well as the decision of the Town Board shall be recorded and made
available for public inspection.
The Town Board and/or the Chief Plant Operator and/or Superintendent
of Sewers shall compile, index and publish all effective rules. The
compilation shall be supplemented as often as necessary. Copies of
the compilation shall be open for inspection upon request at the Town
Clerk's office during normal public hours.
Any interested person may petition the Sewer District requesting the promulgation, amendment, or appeal of a rule. Within 30 days after submission of a petition, the Town Board shall either deny the petition in writing, stating its reasons, or shall initiate rule-making proceedings in accordance with § 257-124.
A formal request of the Chief Plant Operator and/or Superintendent of Sewers for a declaratory opinion shall be acknowledged within 10 days. The Chief Plant Operator and/or Superintendent of Sewers may state his opinion of the petitioner's position and the policy of his office. The Webster Town Board shall be informed of all opinions. After review, the Town Board will issue a declaratory ruling to be filed in accordance with the provisions of § 257-125 of this chapter.
A.
In a contested case, all parties
shall be afforded opportunity for hearing. After reasonable notice,
the hearing shall be conducted by the Town Board or a hearing officer
appointed by the Town Board.
B.
The notice shall include:
(1)
A statement of the time,
place and nature of the hearing;
(2)
A statement of the legal
authority and jurisdiction under which the hearing is to be held;
(3)
A reference to the particular
sections of the statutes and rules involved;
(4)
A short and plain statement
of the matters asserted. If the Sewer District or other party is unable
to state the matters in detail at the time the notice is served, the
initial notice may be limited to a statement of the issues involved.
Thereafter, upon application, a more definite and detailed statement
shall be furnished.
C.
Unless precluded by law, informational
disposition may be made of any contested case by stipulation, agreement,
settlement, consent order or default.
D.
The record in a contested case
shall include:
(1)
All pleadings, motions,
and intermediate rulings;
(2)
Evidence received or considered;
(3)
A statement of matters officially
noticed;
(4)
Questions and offers of
proof, objections, and rulings thereon;
(5)
Proposed findings and exceptions;
(6)
Any decision, opinion or
report by the officer presiding at the hearing;
(7)
All staff memoranda or data
submitted to the hearing officer or members of the Town Board in connection
with their consideration of the case.
E.
Oral proceedings or any part
thereof shall be transcribed on request of any party and paid for
by the requesting party.
F.
Findings of fact shall be based
exclusively on the evidence and on matters officially noticed.
In contested cases:
A.
Irrelevant, immaterial, or unduly
repetitious evidence shall be excluded. The rules of evidence as applied
in nonjury civil cases in the Supreme Courts of New York State shall
be followed. When necessary to ascertain facts not reasonably susceptible
of proof under those rules, evidence not admissible thereunder may
be admitted (except where precluded by statute) if it is of a type
commonly relied upon by a reasonably prudent people in the conduct
of their affairs. The Sewer District shall give effect to the rules
of privilege recognized by law. Objections to evidentiary offers may
be made and noted in the record. Subject to these requirements, when
a hearing will be expedited and the interest of the parties will not
be prejudiced substantially, any part of the evidence may be received
in written form;
B.
Documentary evidence may be
received in the form of copies or excerpts, if the original is not
readily available. Upon request, parties shall be given an opportunity
to compare the copy with the original;
C.
A party may conduct cross-examinations
required for a full and true disclosure of the facts;
D.
Notice may be taken of judicially
cognizable facts. In addition, notice may be taken of general recognized
technical or scientific facts within the Sewer District's specialized
knowledge. Parties shall be notified, either before or during the
hearing, or by reference in preliminary reports or otherwise, of the
material noticed, including any staff memoranda or data, and they
shall be afforded an opportunity to contest the material so noticed.
The Sewer District's experience, technical competence, and specialized
knowledge may be utilized in the evaluation of the evidence.
When in a contested case a majority of the members of the Town
Board who are to render the final decision have not heard the case
or read the record, the decision, if adverse to a party to the proceeding
other than the Sewer District itself, shall not be made until a proposal
for decision is served upon the parties and an opportunity is afforded
to each party adversely affected to file exceptions and present briefs
and oral argument to the members who are to render the decision.
A final decision or order adverse to a party in a contested
case shall be in writing or stated in the record. A final decision
shall include findings of fact and conclusions of law, separately
stated. Findings of fact, if set forth in statutory language, shall
be accompanied by a concise and explicit statement of the underlying
facts supporting the finding. If, in accordance with the rules of
the Sewer District, a party submitted proposed findings of fact, the
decision shall include a ruling upon each of the proposed findings.
Parties shall be notified either personally or by mail of any decision
or order.
Unless required for the disposition of ex parte matters authorized
by law, members or employees of the Sewer District assigned to render
a decision or to make findings of fact and conclusions of law in a
contested case shall not communicate, directly or indirectly, in connection
with any issue of fact, with any issue of law, or with any party or
its representative, except upon notice and opportunity for all parties
to participate. A member of the Sewer District:
A.
When the grant, denial, or renewal
of a permit is required to be preceded by notice and opportunity for
hearing, the provisions of this chapter concerning contested cases
shall apply.
B.
No revocation, suspension, annulment,
or withdrawal of any permit is lawful unless, prior to the institution
of Town Board proceedings, the Chief Plant Operator and/or Superintendent
of Sewers or Town Board gave notice by mail to the permittee of facts
or conduct which warrant the intended action, and the permittee was
given an opportunity to show compliance with all lawful requirements
for the retention of the permit. If the Chief Plant Operator and/or
Superintendent of Sewers finds that public health, safety, or welfare
imperatively requires emergency action, and incorporates a finding
to that effect in its order, summary suspension of a permit may be
ordered pending proceedings for revocation or other action. These
proceedings shall be promptly instituted and determined.
A.
A party, who has exhausted all
administrative remedies available within the Sewer District and who
is aggrieved by a final decision in a contested case is entitled to
review.
B.
Review of a rate-making determination
shall be accomplished by petition to the Webster Town Board and/or
a successor body designated pursuant to law.
C.
Review of other decisions are
instituted in accordance with Article 78 of the New York Civil Practice
Law and Rules.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
D.
The filing of the petition does
not itself stay enforcement of the Town Boards' decision though a
stay may be granted upon appropriate terms by the Town Board.
E.
Within 30 days after the service
of the petition or within further time allowed by the court, the Town
Board and/or the Chief Plant Operator and/or Superintendent of Sewers
shall transmit to the reviewing court the original of the entire record
of proceeding under review.
