§ 6-201. Disciplinary proceedings.

(a)

The secretary of the contractors examining board may, upon his own motion, or shall, upon a sworn complaint in writing of any person, investigate or cause to be investigated by a special investigator appointed by the board, the charges against any unlicensed contractor or any licensed contractor qualified hereunder, and, upon finding probable cause to believe that an alleged violation did occur, issue subpoenas to the contractor and any witnesses to appear before the examining board and answer charges. If a qualified contractor fails to keep in force the insurance policy required in this article, the secretary of the board shall immediately suspend the local certificate of competency and report the matter to the examining board for revocation action. All disciplinary actions under this article shall be initiated within four years of the occurrence of the event complained of or be forever barred.

(b)

The secretary shall send, by registered mail, a subpoena to the contractor at his last known address, as shown by the board's records, setting out the name of the complainant, the time of commission of the alleged offense, and the section of this article alleged to be violated, and notifying the contractor to appear before the board to answer the charges, or waive his right to appear before the board, at a time and place fixed, not sooner than 20 days from the mailing of the registered letter and, in the case of a licensed contractor, to show cause why his certificate of competency should not be suspended or revoked or why his permit-pulling privileges should not be suspended or revoked.

(c)

The administrative hearing provided for in this section shall be open to the public.

(1)

The proceedings at the hearing shall be recorded and may be transcribed at the expense of the party requesting the transcript. For purposes of administrative hearings only the building official shall present the case before the contractors examining board, and the building official shall designate an employee of his department to act as secretary for the board during the hearing and the subsequent retention of exhibits. The county attorney, or designee, shall provide legal counsel to the contractors examining board. All testimony shall be under oath.

(2)

The hearing need not be conducted according to technical rules relating to evidence and witnesses. Any relevant evidence shall be admitted if the board finds it competent and reliable, regardless of the existence of any common law or statutory rule that might make improper the admission of such evidence. 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 in civil actions. The rules of privilege shall be effective to the same extent that they are now or hereafter may be recognized in civil actions. Irrelevant and unduly repetitious evidence shall be excluded.

(3)

Each party shall have the following rights:

a.

To call and examine witnesses;

b.

To introduce exhibits;

c.

To cross examine opposing witnesses on any matter relevant to the issues even though that matter was not covered in the direct examination;

d.

To impeach any witness, regardless of which party first called him to testify; and

e.

To rebut the evidence against him.

(d)

A decision shall be made by the examining board by a majority of the board within five days after the close of the hearing and delivered to the contractor. For licensed contractors, the decision shall be one or more of the following:

(1)

Not guilty.

(2)

Finding of violation; suspension of certificate of competency, stating the time.

(3)

Finding of violation; revocation of certificate of competency, naming the effective date.

(4)

Finding of violation; a letter of reprimand stating the nature of the offense and any action required for correction. A copy of the letter shall also be retained by the building department in an active file pertaining to the party for a period of three years. When three years have elapsed with no further disciplinary actions, a letter of reprimand shall be removed from a contractor's active file and placed in an inactive file.

(5)

Finding of violation; imposition of an administrative fine not less than the amount set forth in the citation but not more than $5,000.00 for each of the charges upon which a certificate holder has been found in violation by the board. This penalty may be imposed separately or in addition to the penalties of suspension, revocation and reprimand authorized in subsections (d)(2), (d)(3) and (d)(4) of this section. The payment of such fines shall be made to the county building department within a time specified by the board, but no less than seven days and no more than 30 days from the date of imposition. If a certificate holder fails to pay the fine as assessed by the board, the certificate of such person or firm shall be administratively suspended until the fine has been paid; and the certificate holder, the department of professional regulation for the state and all municipalities within the county shall be so notified; and a certified copy of the order issuing the fine shall be filed in the public records of the county, thereby creating a lien.

(6)

Finding of violation; imposition of restitution.

(7)

Finding of violation; imposition of an administrative fee for all costs incurred by the county building department, county code compliance department and the county attorney's office in investigating and resolving the complaint that gave rise to the disciplinary proceedings.

(e)

A decision shall be made by the contractors examining board by a majority of the board within five days after the close of the hearing and delivered to the contractor. For unlicensed contractors, the decision shall be one or more of the following:

(1)

Not guilty.

(2)

If the enforcement of licensing board or designated special magistrate finds that a violation exists, the enforcement or licensing board or designated special magistrate may order the violator to pay a civil penalty of not less the amount set forth on the citation but not more than $2,500.00 per day for each violation. In determining the amount of the penalty, the enforcement or licensing board or designated special magistrate shall consider the following factors:

a.

The gravity of the violations.

b.

Any actions taken by the violator to correct the violation.

c.

Any previous violations committed by the violator.

(3)

Finding of violation; imposition of an administrative fee for all costs incurred by the county building department, county code compliance department and the county attorney's office in investigating and resolving the complaint that gave rise to the disciplinary proceedings.

(f)

Each day a willful, knowing violation continues shall constitute a separate offense under the provisions of this section.

(g)

The decision of the board constitutes final administrative action that is subject to judicial review.

(h)

Imposition of penalties pursuant to this section shall be based upon consideration of guidelines duly adopted by the contractor's examining board, or upon guidelines established by the state construction industry licensing board.

(Code 1979, § 6-68; Ord. No. 16-1975, § 7; Ord. No. 14-1990, § 1; Ord. No. 12-1992, § 2; Ord. No. 5-1993, § 1; Ord. No. 15-1993, §§ 1, 2; Ord. No. 32-1993, § 2; Ord. No. 33-1993, § 1; Ord. No. 20-1996, § 3; Ord. No. 56-1996, § 1; Ord. No. 8-1998, § 1; Ord. No. 024-2006, § 1; Ord. No. 020-2011, § 2 ; Ord. No. 023-2015 , § 7)