Updated Apr. 25, 2024 12:28 pm
The five-member Board of County Commissioners (BCC) is Collier County’s legislative and governing body. Each county commissioner is elected by voters in their district for a maximum of three 4-year terms of office. Each January, the Board elects a chair as its presiding officer.
The Board of County Commissioners has the responsibility of setting policies that protect the health, safety, welfare and quality of life of the county’s residents and visitors. This includes approving the County Government’s annual operating budget and capital improvements program. It also includes, but is not limited to, taxation, human services, public safety, land use and development decisions, road ways and traffic, legislating local laws and ordinances, water quality and water treatment, and solid waste, as well as coordination with federal, state, city, and school district partners on many of these matters.
County commissioners are subject to the Florida Sunshine law, which means they cannot communicate with each other in private on an issue that is to be voted on by the Board. The three basic requirements of the Sunshine law are that 1) meetings of public boards, commissions and committees must be open to the public, 2) reasonable notice of such meetings must be given, and 3) minutes of meetings must be taken.
County commissioner salaries are dictated by the state and are a function of the county’s population. Collier County commissioners’ salary for fiscal year 2023-24 is $103,414.
Collier County District Map
Collier County is divided into five districts of roughly equal population every ten years following the decennial census. This is the most recent Collier County District Map:
Find your commissioner district.
Commissioners
The current Collier County commissioners are all Republicans. Their names, the dates they entered office, and the dates of their next elections are:
| District | Commissioner | In Service From | Term Ends |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rick LoCastro rick.locastro@colliercountyfl.gov | 12/20 | 11/24 |
| 2 | Chris Hall chris.hall@colliercountyfl.gov | 12/22 | 11/26 |
| 3 | Burt Saunders burt.saunders@colliercountyfl.govl | 12/16 | 11/24 |
| 4 | Daniel Kowal dan.kowal@colliercountyfl.gov | 12/22 | 11/26 |
| 5 | Bill McDaniel bill.mcdaniel@colliercountyfl.gov | 12/16 | 11/24 |
Note: Commissioner biographies below were updated Jul. 2, 2023, 3:50 pm. They are now excerpted from past Sparker’s Soapbox posts. Previously they were excerpted from the candidates’ official biographies on the Board of Collier County Commissioners’ webpage.
District 1 – Rick LoCastro
Rick LoCastro earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the US Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs and has three Master of Science degrees, including one in Public Administration & Policy from Central Michigan University. After 24 years with the Air Force, he retired as a colonel in 2012. Upon retirement, he was recruited to Naples for a hospital executive position and moved to Marco Island…. Continue reading in my 2020 post, On the Ballot: Collier Commission District 1.
District 2 – Chris Hall
Hall, 60, earned a B.S. degree in Industrial Distribution from Texas A&M University and worked in electrical wholesale and network marketing before turning to real estate investing in 2000. After selling their business, Dunamis Rental Properties, in Brownwood, TX, he and his wife Dot moved to Collier County in 2018. Hall survived a 2013 plane crash in rural Texas that became a life-changing opportunity…. Continue reading in my 2022 post, Collier County Commission Elections: District 2.
District 3 – Burt Saunders
Saunders knows the workings of the county commission and state legislature from the inside: he served as Collier County Attorney from 1982 – 1986, as a Collier County Commissioner from 1986 – 1994, in the Florida House from 1994 – 1998, and the Florida Senate from 1998 – 2008. A shareholder with the GrayRobinson law firm, Saunders now “lobbies for various … Continue reading in my 2016 post, Get Ready to Vote for Board of County Commissioners: an Update.
District 4 – Daniel Kowal
Daniel Kowal, 55, graduated with honors from the Federal Law Enforcement Academy and later studied Public Administration at Barry University. He served for six years in the U.S. Army as a combat medic, and with the US Capitol Police’s Dignitary Protection unit as a special agent. In 2003, he moved to Naples and joined the Collier County Sheriff’s Office, where he worked primarily with … Continue reading in my 2022 post, Collier County Commissioner Elections: District 4.
District 5 – Bill McDaniel
Born and raised in Franklin, PA, Bill McDaniel attended Clarion State University, majoring in accounting and computer programming with a minor in economics. He moved to Naples in 1982. He launched a realty company in 1987 and a mining company, Big Island Excavating, in 1988. He also owns Lazy Springs Recreation Park… Continue reading in my 2020 post, On the Ballot: Collier Commission District 5.
Board Meetings
Meetings of the Board of County Commissioners are generally held the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month at 9:00 a.m. in the Commission Chambers of the County Administration Building, 3299 Tamiami Trail East, Suite 303, Naples, FL 34112-5745 (map).
Meetings are aired live on Collier Television CTV and are available online via Video On Demand (here).
In addition, commissioners meet as the Community Redevelopment Agency Board (CRAB) and also oversee the County’s Airport Authority.
Commissioners are responsible for appointing members to several County advisory boards and committees.
Public Participation in Board Meetings
The public may attend BCC meetings either in person or remotely. All registered speakers will receive up to three minutes unless the time is adjusted by the chairman. Additional minutes may be ceded to an in-person speaker by other registered speakers, who must be present at the time the speaker is heard.
Individuals who would like to participate in person must complete and submit a speaker form, available outside the meeting room, before the beginning of the discussion about the item.
Individuals who would like to participate remotely must complete and submit the online speaker registration form before the beginning of the meeting. To participate remotely in a Hybrid Remote BCC meeting, find the meeting listed on the Calendar of Events webpage. Clicking on the name of the meeting will open a page containing the link to register for remote participation and the agenda.
The County Manager
The County Manager is appointed by the Board of County Commissioners to carry out policies and oversee the county’s day-to-day operations. See the County Manager Office organization chart here.
Amy Patterson has been County Manager since June 2022. She served as Deputy County Manager since May 2021 and was named Acting County Manager a year later. In all, Patterson has served Collier County for more than two decades. Continue reading at colliercountyfl.gov.
Resources
- Collier County Commissioners Web Page
- Collier County Government Website
- BCC Meeting Agendas
- BCC Meeting Minutes
- Collier County Supervisor of Elections – Candidate Handbooks & Forms
- Florida Constitution, Article VIII, Section 1— County Government