[Adopted 5-24-2019 by Ord. No. 2754]
This article shall be known and may be cited as the Town of
Windham "Hearing Procedure for Citations Ordinance."
This article is enacted pursuant to Sections 7-148(c)(10)(A)
and 7-152c of the Connecticut General Statutes.
This article is designed to establish a hearing procedure for
the appeal and enforcement of fines, penalties, costs and fees for
citations issued for violations of Town of Windham ordinances.
The Town Manager shall appoint one or more persons who are electors
of the Town of Windham to serve as citation hearing officers to conduct
hearings regarding the violation of Town ordinances. No police officer,
or any Town employee or person authorized to issue citations for the
violation of any Town ordinance shall be permitted to serve as a citation
hearing officer.
At any time within 12 months from the expiration of the final
period for the uncontested payment of fines, penalties, costs or fees
for any citation issued under any Town ordinance for a violation thereof,
the Town shall send notice to the cited person. Such notice shall
inform the cited person:
(a)
Of the allegations against the cited person(s) and the amount of
the fines, penalties, costs or fees due;
(b)
That the cited person may contest liability before a hearing officer
appointed by the Town Council by delivering in person or by mail written
notice of demand for a hearing to the office of the Town Manager at
the Windham Town Hall within 10 days of the date thereof;
(c)
That if a hearing is not so demanded, an assessment and judgment
shall be entered against the cited person; and
(d)
That such judgment may issue without further notice. For purposes
of this section, notice shall be presumed to have been properly sent
if such notice was mailed to such person's last known address on file
with the Tax Collector or Collector of Revenue.
If a cited person who is sent notice pursuant to Section 9-54 wishes to admit liability for an alleged violation, the cited person may, without requesting a hearing, pay the full amount of the fines, penalties, costs or fees in person or by mail to the Town Treasurer at the address specified in the notice. Such payment shall be inadmissible in any proceeding, civil or criminal, to establish the conduct of the cited person or other person making the payment. Any cited person who does not deliver or mail written notice of demand for a hearing within 10 days of the date of the notice provided for in Section 9-54, above, shall be deemed to have admitted liability and the Town Manager or his designee shall certify such person's failure to respond to the hearing officer. The hearing officer shall thereupon enter and assess the fines, penalties, costs or fees provided for by the applicable ordinance and shall follow the procedures set forth in Section 9-56, below.
(a)
Any cited person who requests a hearing shall be given written notice
of the date, time and place of the hearing. Such hearing shall be
held not less than 15 days nor more than 30 days from the date of
the mailing of such 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 initial notice of violation issued by the issuing municipal
agent or employee shall be filed and retained by the Town, be deemed
to be a business record within the scope of General Statutes Section
52-180, and be evidence of the facts set forth therein. At the request
of the cited person the presence of the issuing municipal officer
or employee shall be required at the hearing. A designated Town official
other than the hearing officer may present evidence on behalf of the
Town of Windham. A person wishing to contest their liability shall
appear at the hearing and present evidence in their own behalf.
(b)
If the cited person fails to appear and such appearance has not been
determined by the hearing officer to be unnecessary, the hearing officer
may enter an assessment by default against the cited person upon a
finding of proper notice and liability under the applicable ordinance.
The hearing officer may accept from the cited person copies of written
statements, police reports, investigatory and citation reports and
other official documents by mail or hand delivery, and may determine
thereby that the appearance of such person is unnecessary. The hearing
officer shall conduct the hearing in the order and form and with such
methods of proof as the hearing officer 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 a decision at the end of the hearing.
If the hearing officer determines that the cited person is not liable,
the matter shall be dismissed and the decision of the hearing officer
entered in writing accordingly. If the hearing officer determines
that the cited person is liable for the violation, said officer shall
forthwith enter and assess the fines, penalties, costs or fees against
the cited person as provided by the applicable ordinance.
If such assessment is not paid on the date of its entry, the
hearing officer shall send by first class mail a notice of the assessment
to the cited person found liable and shall file, not less than 30
days nor more than 12 months after such mailing, a certified copy
of the notice of assessment with the clerk of the appropriate court,
together with the appropriate entry fee required by the court which
is currently $8 per General Statutes Section 7-152c(f). The certified
copy of the notice of assessment shall constitute a record of assessment.
Within such twelve-month period, assessments against the same cited
person may be accrued and filed as one record of assessment. The clerk
shall enter judgment in the amount of said record of assessment and
court costs against the cited person, in favor of the Town. Notwithstanding
any other provision of the Connecticut General Statutes, the hearing
officer's assessment, when so entered as a judgment, shall have the
effect of a civil money judgment and a levy of execution on such judgment
may issue without further notice to such cited person.
A cited person against whom an assessment has been entered pursuant
to this article is entitled to judicial review by way of appeal. An
appeal shall be instituted within 30 days of the mailing of notice
of such assessment by filing a petition to open assessment, together
with an entry fee in an equal amount to the entry fee for a small
claims case pursuant to General Statutes Section 52-259, at the appropriate
court, which shall entitle the cited person to a hearing in accordance
with the rules of the judges of the Superior Court.
No action taken pursuant to this article shall preclude the
Town of Windham or its enforcement officers from pursuing other enforcement
remedies, including administrative and judicial action, either in
addition to those specified in this article or separately, in order
to achieve lawful compliance with law and the ordinances of the Town
of Windham.
