Ga. counties owed millions in unpaid 911 fees, lawsuits contend

Eighteen local governments across Georgia, including Macon-Bibb County, filed lawsuits this week alleging that telephone service providers have underbilled 911 service fees from customers, resulting in an estimated $56 million in underpaid fees to help fund local 911 centers.

In Macon-Bibb County’s case, the underpayments could amount to nearly $3 million, according to the suits.

Georgia law requires the companies to bill and collect up to $1.50 a month for each “exchange access line, channel or pathway” capable of dialing 911, according to the suits, filed in federal and Superior Courts across the state Wednesday.

The money collected — minus a 3 percent administrative fee — must be remitted to local governments at least quarterly to help fund emergency 911 centers.

Companies that underbill are able to provide services at a lower rate than competitors, giving them an advantage, the lawsuits maintain.

Fifty-five companies are named as defendants in the suits. The Telegraph tried to contact two of the companies, and their representatives declined comment.

The local governments contend that the underbilling and underpayments stem from phone companies’ not billing appropriately for Voice over internet Protocol lines and lines provided through multiplexing — systems that offer mostly business customers a single central line that branches to include as many as 24 “handsets” with separate phone numbers that each can be used to dial 911, according to the suits.

David Worley, one of the attorneys representing the governments, said the plaintiffs contend that the phone companies are required to pay a 911 fee on each line capable of calling 911.

But some companies charge for 11 or 12 lines, some charge for five and some charge for one, Worley said.

The lawsuits began after Cobb County made audit requests to several phone companies for information.

“Most of the providers didn’t respond,” Worley said.

Some of them did, but they didn’t provide sufficient information, he said.

Aware that similar issues had come to light in other states, Cobb and Gwinnett counties filed lawsuits in 2015.

Clay, Crisp, DeKalb, Dooly, Fulton, Macon-Bibb, Marion, Muscogee, Quitman, Randolph, Talbot, Taylor, Schley, Stewart, Sumter and Webster counties filed 22 additional suits Wednesday.

Including Cobb and Gwinnett counties, a total 37 lawsuits have been filed to recover more than $100 million, according to a release.

Former Gov. Roy Barnes and his law firm, The Barnes Law Group, as well as the Evangelista Worley firm and the Harris Penn Lowery firm, are representing the local governments.

The plaintiffs also have contracted with Expert Discovery, a telecommunications firm specializing in forensic analysis of 911 remittances.

The governments are seeking a court order to require the telephone service providers to provide records to determine what fees should have been charged and what money may be due.

Although the amount of alleged underpayments won’t be known until the records are reviewed, the suits maintain that Macon-Bibb County could be owed nearly $3 million for fees due in the past three years.

Macon-Bibb County joined the lawsuits after being approached by a group of lawyers, Macon-Bibb County spokesman Chris Floore said.

“We don’t know what we’ve been missing,” he said. “This would help us know and potentially bring in that additional revenue.”

Counties included in the River Valley Regional Commission — Clay, Crisp, Dooly, Randolph, Schley, Stewart, Sumter and Webster counties — could also be owed more than $2.8 million in fees from the same time period, according to the suits.

Dooly County Emergency Management Agency Director Kenny Calhoun said Dooly County is one of eight counties that share a 911 center in Schley County.

The center costs more to operate than the 911 fees the Middle Georgia Regional 911 Authority — the group that operates the center — receives. The eight member counties — Dooly, Macon, Marion, Schley, Sumter, Talbot, Taylor and Webster — provide the additional money needed to fund the budget, he said.

With additional funding, the center could pay dispatchers a more competitive salary, Calhoun said.

He said the center has lost experienced employees to higher-paying jobs that require fewer work hours. What’s more, in a rural community, the workforce is smaller and it’s hard to find replacements when workers quit.

The center also needs upgrades for the radio and dispatching systems, he said.

The local governments are seeking compensatory and punitive damages, attorney fees and other costs.

This story was originally published January 6, 2017 at 12:31 PM with the headline "Ga. counties owed millions in unpaid 911 fees, lawsuits contend."