§ 10.17. Retention of Expert Assistance and Reimbursement by Applicant.

(A)

The county may hire any consultant and/or expert necessary to assist the county in reviewing and evaluating the application, including the construction and modification of the site, once permitted, and any site inspections. To the extent this article requires the applicant to provide documentation prepared by a trained certified professional licensed to practice in Georgia (professional engineer, architect, radio frequency engineer), the review of such documentation shall be carried out by a similarly qualified professional.

(B)

An applicant shall deposit with the county funds sufficient to reimburse the county for all reasonable costs of:

(1)

Consulting and expert evaluation and consultation with the county or the applicant in connection with the submission and/or review of any application;

(2)

Any lease negotiations, the pre-approval evaluation, and including the construction and modification of the site, once permitted.

The initial deposit shall be $5,000.00 in the case of a new facility application governed by section 10.8 and $2,500.00 in the case of a co-location or equipment modification application as governed by section 10.9.

The placement of the initial deposit with the county shall precede the pre-application meeting or any work being done as regards processing an application. The county will maintain a separate escrow account for all such funds. The county's consultants/experts shall invoice the county for its services in reviewing the application, including the construction and modification of the site, once permitted. The initial deposit shall not be increased without action by the application review committee finding that the initial application request has been modified, that the scope of the review is unique, or the applicant has failed to cooperate with the review causing additional staff/consultant time and effort to complete the evaluation of the application. However, if at any time during the process this escrow account has a balance less than $1,000.00, and the application review committee finds that the increase is warranted, the applicant shall immediately, upon notification by the county, replenish said escrow account so that it has a balance of at least $5,000.00 in the case of a new facility application governed by section 10.8 and $2,500.00 in the case of a co-location or equipment modification application governed by section 10.9. The applicant may appeal the decision of the application review committee to require the replenishment of an escrow account to the board of commissioners by providing notice to the zoning administrator within five days of notification of the decision of the application review committee and the decision of the board of commissioners shall be final. Such additional escrow funds shall be deposited with the county before any further action or consideration is taken on the application. In the event that the amount held in escrow is more than the amount of the actual invoicing at the conclusion of the project, the remaining balance shall be promptly refunded to the applicant upon written request.

(C)

No work shall be done on an application for which the full amount of the escrow deposit as set forth in the preceding subsection (B) of this section has not been placed with the county. In the event the escrow deposit minimum balance as set forth in this subsection (B) is not maintained, all work on the application shall cease until the deposit is replenished as required.

(D)

The total amount of the funds needed as set forth in subsection (B) of this section may vary with the scope and complexity of the project, the completeness of the application, necessary discussions with the applicant and other information as may be needed to complete the necessary review, analysis and inspection of any construction or modification.

(E)

Records of all outside costs associated with the review and permitting process shall be maintained and available for public inspection, in compliance with applicable Georgia law.

( Ord. No. 2010-07 , § I, 12-15-2009)