Ordinance 2016-19 ORDINANCE NO. 2016- 19
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING ORDINANCE 2013-69, KNOWN AS THE
COLLIER COUNTY PURCHASING ORDINANCE, BY ADDING A NEW
SUB-SECTION TO SECTION SIXTEEN, PAYMENT OF INVOICES,
WHICH ESTABLISHS A VENDOR PAYMENT DISPUTE RESOLUTION
PROCESS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT
PROMPT PAYMENT ACT; PROVIDING FOR CONFLICT AND
SEVERABILITY, INCLUSION INTO THE CODE OF LAWS AND
ORDINANCES,AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
WHEREAS, the Board of County Commissioners (the Board) desires to seek the
maximum value for the County by procuring the best value in obtaining commodities and
contractual services; and
WHEREAS, to better effectuate this desire, on December 10th, 2013, the Board adopted
Ordinance No. 2013-69, known as the Collier County Purchasing Ordinance; and
WHEREAS,the Board wishes to establish a vendor payment dispute resolution process
in accordance with the Local Government Prompt Payment Act; and
WHEREAS, in keeping with the above, the Board of County Commissioners wishes to
amend this Ordinance as follows.
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY
COMMISSIONERS OF COLLIER COUNTY,FLORIDA,that:
SECTION ONE: Section Sixteen of the Purchasing Ordinance, Payment of Invoices, is hereby
amended as follows:
A. Agencies under the purview of the Board of County Commissioners shall be in compliance
with F.S. § 218.70, otherwise known as the "Local Government Prompt Payment Act."
Pursuant to this,the requirements of this section shall apply to the following transactions:
1. The purchase of commodities and services;
2. The purchase or lease of personal property;
3. The lease of real property.
B. The County Manager shall establish and maintain procedures that authorize minor payment
variances between the purchase order and invoice where warranted. The authority to pay such
variances shall not exceed 5% of the purchase order amount or$500, whichever is less.
C. The County Manager shall establish and maintain a process that authorizes the payment of
freight and delivery charges that are not specifically identified on the purchase order of less
than$500.
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D. It shall be the responsibility of the County Manager, in consultation with the Clerk's
Finance Director and operating Divisions, to establish, procedures for the timely payment of
all transactions as defined under subsection 16.A (subsection A of this section). Such
procedures shall include, but are not limited to the following:
1. Formally defining the County's requirements for the content and submission of a
proper invoice, codifying the County's payment requirements and notifying each vendor
of their availability.
2. Steps required for the receipt of all invoices and the prompt return of improper
invoices.
3. Steps required for the resolution of payment disputes between the County and a
vendor.
E. Each December,the Procurement Services Director and the Clerk of the Courts shall submit
a report to the Board listing the number and total dollar amount of interest penalty payments
made during the preceding fiscal year.
F. Prior to payment, the Board shall approve all expenditures with a finding that such
expenditures serve a valid public purpose.
G. Vendor Payment Dispute Resolution Process. The purpose of this section is to establish a
procedure whereby payment disputes with vendors who provide goods and services to the
County are resolved in a timely manner and in keeping with the Local Government Prompt
Payment Act.
1 Definitions. The definitions set forth in the Local Government Prompt Payment Act
(Section 218.72, Florida Statutes 2016) are hereby incorporated by reference.
2 If an improper payment request or invoice is submitted by a vendor, the County's shall,
within 10 days after the improper payment request or invoice is received, notify the
vendor, in writing, that the payment request or invoice is improper and indicate what
corrective action on the part of the vendor is needed to make the payment request or
invoice proper.
3 If the parties are unable to reach resolution on the payment dispute,the County Manager
shall appoint a Hearing Examiner, to whom the matter will be referred to. The Hearing
Examiner shall have the sole and full authority to thereafter resolve the dispute. The
proceedings before the Hearing Examiner to resolve the dispute shall commence with 45
days after the date the payment request or improper invoice was received by the County
and shall be concluded with final written decision by the Hearing Examiner within 60
days after the date the payment request or improper invoice was received by the County.
These proceedings are not subject to Chapter 120, Florida Statutes, and do not constitute
an administrative hearing. Rather, these proceedings are intended to be quasi-judicial,
open to the public, with the written decision of the Hearing Examiner being final,
subject only to certiorari review. If the dispute is resolved in favor of the County,
interest charges shall begin to accrue 15 days after the Hearing Examiner's final
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decision. If the dispute is resolved in favor of the Vendor, interest begins to accrue as of
the original date the payment became due.
4 If the County does not timely commence this dispute resolution process within the time
required, a contractor may give written notice to the County of the failure to timely
commence this dispute resolution procedure. If the County fails to commence this
dispute resolution procedure within four business days after such notice, any amounts
resolved in the contractor's favor shall bear mandatory interest, as set forth in Chapter
218, Florida Statutes, from the date the payment request or invoice containing the
disputed amounts was submitted to the County. If the dispute resolution procedure is not
commenced within 4 business days after the notice,the objection to the payment request
or invoice shall be deemed waived. The waiver of an objection pursuant to this
paragraph does not relieve a contractor of its contractual obligations.
5 In an action to recover amounts due under this part,the court shall award court costs and
reasonable attorney's fees, including fees incurred through appeal, to the prevailing
party.
6 The conduct of the Hearing Examiner proceedings, including notice, process, and
criteria, shall be set forth the Procurement Division's Policies and Procedures.
SECTION TWO: Conflict and Severability.
In the event this Ordinance conflicts with any other ordinance of Collier County or other
applicable law,the more restrictive shall apply. If any phrase or portion of this Ordinance is held
invalid or unconstitutional by any court of competent jurisdiction, such portion shall be deemed a
separate, distinct and independent provision and such holding shall not affect the validity of the
remaining portion.
SECTION THREE: Inclusion in the Code of Laws and Ordinances.
The provisions of this Ordinance shall become and be made a part of the Code of Laws
and Ordinance of Collier County, Florida. The sections of the Ordinance may be renumbered or
relettered to accomplish such, and the word "ordinance" may be changed to "section," "article,"
or any other appropriate word.
SECTION FOUR: Effective Date.
This Ordinance shall be effective upon filing with the Department of State.
PASSED AND DULY ADOPTED by the Board of County Commissioners of Collier
County, Florida,this I y day of June, 2016.
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ATTEST: •ti 4p, BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
DWIGHrE:IIROCIf `Cleik COLL R COUNTY, FLORIDA
1;4_
1. ti;. 7z ft `+l By:
9 I + h ) puty Clerk DONNA FIALA, CHAIRMAN
sig tli , 1 ; ..
Appr . ; r Orm . •• egality:
mu.
Jeffre 1• . 4 atzkow, County Attorney
This ordinance filed with the
Secretory of Stele's Office tt:
1544"day of Sate—,'3-9-L—
and acknowledgement of that
Iilira..received this day
of ..1o11C o0ilt?
puty C1ork
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FLORIDA DEPARTMENT Of STATE
RICK SCOTT KEN DETZNER
Governor Secretary of State
June 15, 2016
Honorable Dwight E. Brock
Clerk of the Circuit Court
Collier County
Post Office Box 413044
Naples, Florida 34101-3044
Attention: Teresa L. Cannon, BMR Senior Clerk
Dear Mr. Brock:
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 125.66, Florida Statutes,this will acknowledge receipt of your
electronic copy of Collier County Ordinance No. 2016-19, which was filed in this office on June 15, 2016.
Sincerely,
Ernest L. Reddick
Program Administrator
ELR/lb
R. A. Gray Building • 500 South Bronough Street • Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0250
Telephone: (850) 245-6270
www.dos.state.fl.us