BROOKHAVEN — It is unknown how much money Lincoln County could be losing in ad valorem tax exemptions by cell service companies but a new partnership could find the answer. Cell Tower Solutions visited the Lincoln County Board of Supervisors Monday. 

Based in Athens, Georgia, Cell Tower Solutions specializes in technical valuation services to aid County and State tax assessors. Lincoln County is currently home to 15 wireless towers, five broadcast towers and one flagpole site where cell service companies have thousands of dollars in equipment but may not be paying their fair share of taxes. 

Walt Woodard of Cell Tower Solutions pitched the company’s services Monday. Lincoln County Board of Supervisors voted to take the issue under advisement at this time. 

Woodard said Cell Tower Solutions audits these cell phone towers by reverse engineering sites. The company visits a site, takes pictures and measurements and then their engineer is able to take each part and lay it out on a spreadsheet to give to Lincoln County’s Tax Assessor Blake Pickerting. 

“We want cell phone companies to pay their fair share of property taxes,” Woodard said. “We do not bill until the County sees the numbers first and we guarantee the county makes positive revenue. This is not a one and done project.”

Woodard handed out a proposal to the board and told them he believes the minimal cost for the project would be $126,000 which would cover appeals and have no additive costs. 

In Jasper County, Cell Tower Solutions estimated the lost revenue per year was $225,000. Pickering told the board the current assessed value varies depending on the carriers, some report closer to others. 

“Every county I’ve talked to has said they have seen significant returns. The return on investment is good for most of the counties I’ve talked to,” Pickering said. “Personal property is tied up in the equipment and that is where we see the money. We don’t know how to look at the equipment and determine value like Cell Tower Solutions can.”