Municipal hearings officer training is June 11

A training program for municipal hearings officers will be held on Thursday, June 11, at the Department of Fire Services office in Stow.

The training, which will begin at 9 a.m. in Trailer 109, will cover the following topics:
• Source of authority and rules for conducting municipal hearings
• Burden of proof, conduct of hearings, and admission of evidence
• Creating, documenting and preserving the record for appeal

The course will be conducted by former Assistant Attorney General Robert Ritchie and attorney James Lampke, president of the City Solicitors and Town Counsel Association.

As part of the Massachusetts Fire Safety Act of 2004, the Legislature enacted Chapter 148A, which allowed for the issuance of citations for certain violations of the State Building and Fire Code by state and local code enforcement officers. In order to participate in the citation process, cities and towns must appoint a certified hearings officer.

Citations written by local code enforcement officers that are appealed are heard before a municipal hearings officer. The hearings officer is appointed by his or her municipality to conduct such hearings.

In order to serve as a municipal hearings officer, an individual must receive training provided jointly by the Office of the Attorney General and the City Solicitors and Town Counsel Association.

This training provides an opportunity for communities that did not initially participate or that have a need to appoint a new or additional hearings officer. Those who wish to participate in the citation process should urge their appointing authority to designate a hearings officer and send that individual to this training.

The training is limited to those individuals designated by their appointing authority to serve as a municipal hearings officer for hearing either building or fire appeals. Current members of a building or fire department may not serve as hearings officers for violations issued by their own department.

To register for the training, call Mary Lynch at the Department of Fire Services at (978) 567-3181 by June 4 at 5 p.m.