County approves change order increasing Brink’s armored-car fees amid limited competition

Summit County’s Finance committee confirmed change order No. 4 to continue armored-car services with Brink’s Inc. as the county’s practical source, increasing the contract by $141,000 for a total not to exceed $353,000. Phil Montgomery of the Executive’s Department of Finance and Budget told the committee Brink’s has been the only respondent to several solicitations and has not agreed to a standard annual renewal; as a result, the county has had to accept higher fees to maintain daily pickup and deposit services. “They've been kind of holding us hostage a little bit on this contract,” Montgomery said. Council members asked whether alternatives are being pursued and whether the contract allows the county to exit if it finds another solution. Montgomery said the county has the ability to terminate the relationship and is evaluating options, including route restructuring and outreach to other counties to learn practices. He said relying on sheriff personnel to perform pickups would be staff- and cost-prohibitive for Summit County. The committee approved the change order; the resolution was presented as an emergency measure in the agenda text. Clarifying context: The presentation said Brink’s has been the sole bidder in recent procurements and that the county will reissue an RFP once it can better structure routes to attract other bidders. The clerk of courts and fiscal office are partners in exploring alternatives.