DENVER, Colo., Jan. 3, 2011 — The city of Hinesville, Ga., is the latest local government to sign up for CH2M HILL’s growing revenue enhancement services by contracting for an audit of the local cable television franchise.

Hinesville’s City Council recently approved the audit agreement to ensure the city’s franchise fee is being properly collected and remitted. The audit will be completed in six months and covers 2007 through 2010.

Hinesville joins other Georgia governments, including Gwinnett County and the cities of Atlanta, Sandy Springs and Johns Creek, in turning to CH2M HILL for help identifying businesses that owe taxes and fees such as occupation taxes, cell tower leases, alcohol excise taxes and E-911 fees.

Another is Liberty County, where Hinesville serves as the county seat. Liberty retained CH2M HILL in June to conduct an audit of its cable franchise provider and manage a registration program for wireless communication facilities and billboards, which led to
CH2M HILL performing the work for both agencies to gain efficiencies. 

Program Manager Jonathan Mantay notes that CH2M HILL originally identified 32 cell towers in Liberty County. Once the registration program began, however, the county received 78 new cell tower applications.

“In today’s economy, counties and cities are under pressure to maintain service levels for their residents without having to raise taxes or increase fees,” says Mantay. “Our revenue enhancement practice helps communities like Hinesville discover and recover the monies they need to provide its citizens with the best possible services.”

CH2M HILL has served Hinesville for more than a quarter of a century, managing the city’s wastewater treatment plant and providing public works services.

The revenue enhancement program recently was featured at the National League of Cities’ 2010 Conference of Cities. A video of the session is available online for those interested in learning more.

Headquartered in Denver, Colo., employee-owned CH2M HILL is a global leader in consulting, design, design-build, operations and program management for government, civil, industrial and energy clients. With $6.3 billion in revenue and 23,500 employees,
CH2M HILL is an industry-leading program management, construction management and design firm, as ranked by Engineering News-Record (2010). The firm’s work is concentrated in the areas of water, transportation, environmental, energy and power, and facilities and infrastructure. The firm has long been recognized as a most-admired company and leading employer. Visit www.ch2mhill.com.