A. An alarm user may appeal the validity of a false alarm determination to the police chief. The appeal shall be in writing and shall be requested within 10 days of the notice of penalty received from the city finance department. Failure to contest the false alarm determination in the required time period results in a conclusive presumption for all purposes that the alarm was false.

B. If a hearing is requested, written notice of the time and place of the hearing shall be served on the user by the police chief, by certified mail, at least 10 days prior to the date set for the hearing, which shall not be more than 21 nor less than 10 days after the filing of the request for hearing.

C. The hearing shall be before the police chief. The police chief may appoint another person to be an administrative hearing officer to hear the appeals and to render judgment. The alarm user and the police chief shall have the right to present written and oral evidence. If the police chief determines that the false alarms alleged have occurred in a registration year, the police chief may issue written findings waiving, expunging or entering a false alarm designation on an alarm user’s record. If false alarm designations are entered on the alarm user’s record, the finance department shall pursue the collection of the penalty fines. If the civil penalty is not found to be proper, then the alarm user shall bear no costs.

D. If a hearing is canceled more than 10 days after its request, then a cancellation fee as set forth in the fee resolution must be paid in addition to the amount of the civil infraction.

E. In accordance with RCW 46.55.240(1)(d), a decision made by an administrative hearing officer may be appealed to the King County district court for final judgment. (Ord. 5224 § 1, 1999.)