§ 14-106. Appeal of revocation, suspension or denial of permit.

(a)

The creation of the animal services appeal board is hereby established to hear appeals of denial, revocation or suspension of a permit and shall be comprised of citizens of Pasco County. Members of the animal services advisory committee shall serve as the members of the animal services appeals board.

(b)

Denial, revocation or suspension of a permit may be appealed to the animal services appeals board by written notice to the department within ten business days of the date of denial, revocation or suspension. The notice of appeal shall include the title "Notice of Appeal Regarding Breeder/Pet Dealer/Large Kennel Permit" and shall have the complete written determination by the department director attached.

(c)

Within 45 days of receipt of the notice of appeal, the department director, or his designee, shall set an administrative hearing to be held with the animal services appeals board (hereinafter referred to as "appeals board") acting as a quasi-judicial administrative body to hear the appeal.

(d)

The rules governing the appeal hearing shall be as follows:

Rules of Procedure for Appeal Hearings Before the Appeals Board.

(1)

A hearing date before the board will be heard by a quorum of the appeals board within 180 days after the receipt of the notice of appeal, unless a different date is agreed to by the county and the person requesting an appeal.

(2)

The chairman has the discretion to delay or continue any appeal hearing before the appeals board for good cause. A written request for continuance must be delivered to the appeals board's chairman with a copy to the county attorney at least 24 hours prior to the start of the scheduled hearing and it must state the specific reasons for the request, unless the reason for the continuance arises during the course of the hearing.

(3)

During appeal hearings all parties will have an opportunity to present evidence and argument, to conduct cross-examination, and submit rebuttal evidence, subject to any time limitations imposed by the appeals board's chairman.

(4)

At the discretion of the appeals board, the general public or nonparty witnesses will have an opportunity to present oral testimony or written communications. If this evidence is considered by the appeals board, the opposing party will be given the opportunity to cross examine, challenge or rebut it.

(5)

All testimony must be under oath, or notarized if it is a written statement.

(6)

The standard of proof applicable to appeal hearings is "preponderance of the evidence."

(7)

Irrelevant, immaterial or unduly repetitious evidence may be excluded, but all other evidence of the type commonly relied upon by reasonably prudent persons in the conduct of their affairs will be admissible, whether or not the evidence would be admissible in civil court. Any part of the evidence may be received in written form.

(8)

Hearsay evidence may be used for the purpose of supplementing or explaining other evidence, but will not be sufficient in itself to support a finding unless it would be admissible over objection in civil actions.

(9)

Documentary evidence may be received in the form of a copy or excerpt if the original is not readily available. Upon request, parties will be given an opportunity to compare the copy with the original.

(10)

All pleadings, motions or other papers filed in the proceedings must be signed by a party, the party's attorney or the party's qualified representative.

(11)

Upon a party's request, the appeals board chairman can issue a subpoena for hearing. Any person subject to a subpoena may, before compliance and on a timely petition, request the appeals board to invalidate the subpoena on the ground that it was not lawfully issued, is unreasonable in scope, or requires the production of irrelevant material.

(12)

At the conclusion of the hearing, the appeals board will render an oral decision, which shall be reduced to written form and signed by the chairman within 60 days of the conclusion of the hearing. The written decision of the appeals board is the final order for the purposes of appeal to the courts.

(13)

All meetings will be conducted in accordance with Robert's Rules of Order.

(14)

Record of proceedings. The director of the animal services department or his/her designee will act as an ex officio secretary of the appeals board. The clerk and comptroller or her/his designee will keep minutes of all meetings. Any person desiring to appeal a decision of the appeals board with respect to any matter considered at the hearing will need a record of the proceedings, and for such purpose, he/she may need to ensure that a verbatim record of the proceedings is made. The record of the appeals board's proceedings will consist of the following:

a.

All complaints, notices, pleadings, motions and orders.

b.

All evidence received or considered by the appeals board.

c.

All staff memoranda or data submitted to the appeals board during the hearing or prior to its disposition except communications by advisory staff.

d.

All matters placed on the record after ex parte communication.

e.

The testimony and evidence which the appeal is to be based.

(15)

Ex parte communications.

a.

Ex parte communication is prohibited. No ex parte communication relative to the merits of a case under the appeals board's jurisdiction may be made to a member of the appeals board by:

1.

Any county employee officially involved in prosecuting the matter under consideration.

2.

A party to the proceeding, including an authorized representative or counsel, or any person who, directly or indirectly, would have a substantial interest in the proposed action.

b.

An appeals board member who is involved in the decision process that receives an ex parte communication must place on the record of the proceedings all written communication received or a memorandum stating the substance of all oral communications received and all oral responses made, and must also advise all parties that these matters have been placed on the record. Any party desiring to rebut the ex parte communication must be allowed to do so. A request for rebuttal must be made within ten days after notice of the communication is received.

(16)

Rehearings. Any person who is the subject of an appeals board order, or the county, may request in writing that the appeals board reexamine the order based upon new evidence not available to the appeals board at the initial hearing of the appeal. The request must be made no later than 30 days after the appeals board's written decision on the appeal, and must include a copy of or a statement setting forth the new evidence. Rehearings are granted at the appeals board's discretion. For purposes of this section, new evidence means evidence or documentation not considered at the time of the initial hearing that will substantially add to or clarify the appeal.

(e)

Appeals of the appeals board's final decision may be made by petition to the circuit court. The petition must be filed no later than 30 days after the date of the appeal board's written order. The appellant shall provide all parties to the hearing a copy of the notice of appeal. The hearing shall be a certiorari review of a final administrative action.

(Ord. No. 16-29, § 3, 10-11-16)