Collier commission finalizes agreement to pay vendors

COLLIER COUNTY, Fla.- Hundreds of Southwest Florida business owners can now breathe a sigh of relief.

Collier County is paying out more than $5.6 million to vendors who haven’t been paid in months.

WINK News first told you about the ongoing battle between the Clerk of Courts and the county. Now, after months of waiting, the checks will be signed and sent out.

“It was extremely important for several reasons. Number one, we’re getting these vendors properly paid and they deserve to be paid and secondly that also assures that the goods and services that the public needs to be receiving will continue to be provided by those vendors,” said Collier County Commissioner Georgia Hiller.

A settlement agreement was reached and commissioners held a special meeting to approve the payment in a four to one vote.

The county and Clerk of Courts Dwight Brock are locked in a legal battle stemming from a dispute over the county’s purchasing ordinance. Brock had refused to sign off on paying back vendors unless commissioners could show specific board meetings in which the spending was approved.

Commissioners say in the future, they want to know the public purpose of the spending and who specifically is signing off on it.