Broward County Mayor Beam Furr fired back Friday at Sheriff Gregory Tony’s push for additional funding, saying that if Tony wants the state to compel the county to increase law enforcement resources, his own agency should first undergo the same financial scrutiny the county faced over the summer.
Responding to an op-ed Tony published this week in the Sun Sentinel, Furr said the county budget passed last month already devotes more than 50% of its resources to law enforcement, signaling that the sheriff’s office is far from being ignored.
During this year’s budget negotiations, Tony requested a $79 million, or 11%, increase for the sheriff’s office. The County Commission approved $24 million, or 3%, Furr said.
“We had asked every department in the county to have a 5% cut,” Furr said. “He knew that and he still came in high.”
This year marked the first time the county was asked to fund the newly created Broward County Tax Collector’s Office, introducing an annual expense of about $80 million. Other agencies were asked to adjust their budget requests to offset the added cost.
In his op-ed, Tony maintained he was transparent in seeking additional funds to cover raises and expenses.
“For seven consecutive years, as sheriff, I have submitted responsible and transparent budgets that reflected the real costs of keeping this county safe,” Tony wrote. “And for seven straight years, the Broward Sheriff’s Office (BSO) has been denied full funding by the Broward County Commission.”
At the end of the piece, Tony said he would ask the state’s Administration Commission to review the budget allocation to compel the county to act.
“Bring it on,” Furr responded.
“We can’t review his budget. We can’t audit his budget,” the mayor said. But he added that, just as the state’s Department of Government Efficiency reviewed county spending over the summer, a similar examination of the sheriff’s office would be appropriate.
“I assume the Department of Government Efficiency would take a look at his entire budget. And we welcome that,” Furr said, adding that he would comply with state requirements to reconsider funding if necessary.
Tony’s op-ed, Furr said, overlooked the extensive support law enforcement has already received from the county.
“It is our highest priority,” Furr said. “We’ve bought helicopters, we made huge increases on dispatch — a lot of things to make sure that he could work out. He said essentially he thought this year it was his turn to kind of give.”
The sheriff initially requested roughly 50% more funding, a proposal the commission did not even consider. What was approved instead amounted to a cost-of-living increase during a tight budget year when all departments were asked to cut back.
Furr also noted that state auditors reviewing Broward’s finances did not examine the sheriff’s budget.
“And we’re not allowed to look at his budget — have an audit,” he said.
Furr said Tony communicates primarily through social media, speeches, and op-eds rather than direct discussion with the commission.
“We had invited the sheriff to our meetings,” Furr said. “We didn’t get much discussion going.”
