It’s a countywide trial program that could expand to 58 towers in Douglas County, a west-central region of the state about 26 miles west of Atlanta. County Board of Commissioners voted for a first phase of audits of a randomly selected group of 10 towers. Appraisal firm Consulting/Real Estate Development will be paid $22,500 to verify what equipment is in use which affects the amount of taxes owed by the tower owner, the West Georgia Neighbor reported.
“We want to make sure all equipment is accounted for, itemized, categorized and valued. If one account is properly reporting, then they are paying fully what they need to,” Chief Appraiser Benny Waldrop said. “If a neighboring cell tower is not properly reporting, then it is considered out of uniformity.”
County Clerk Lisa Watson said in a report to commissioners that Consulting/Real Estate Development’s work for other local governments turned up enough unreported values to double Douglas County’s existing $33 million valuation of cell tower and cell tower equipment, the Neighbor reported.
Waldrop said the results of phase one will allow officials to determine if an additional phase will be conducted to audit the remaining 48 towers. “If the sample [10 towers] shows we are doing a decent job, then our methodology and reports are pretty much on target, so there wouldn’t be a need for phase two,” he said. A second phase can be proposed, but Waldrop noted it would be factored into the 2017 budget and depended on approval from the county commission. Pilot Program In Douglas County, GA to Tax Audit Towers, Equipment
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