NEAR FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (WSVN) — A county clash in Broward between commissioners and the sheriff continued to escalate after county officials were denied entry to a Broward Sheriff’s Office facility.

7News cameras captured Broward County Mayor Mark Bogen and as handful of commissioners as they approached the front entrance to BSO’s Research, Development and Training Center, Monday morning.

The mayor pulled on the door, but it was locked. Moments later, he was met at the door by a uniformed deputy.

“We’d like to enter the building, and we’d only like to go to the gym, the unsecured area,” said Bogen.

“No. We are told to tell you that all tours have to be scheduled though the Office of the Sheriff,” said the deputy.

Shortly after, the deputy closed the door.

“Are you – you’re keeping me out here, right?” said Bogen.

Bogen said he and the commissioners showed up to the building uninvited after he tried to do set up an appointment to tour the facility on Friday but did not receive an answer from Broward County Sheriff Gregory Tony’s office.

This all comes amid rising tensions between the mayor and the sheriff.

“It’s his m.o.: He tries to intimidate elected officials, he yells at them. He got the wrong person with me,” said Bogen.

Bogen and other city officials continue to raise questions over how Tony is pending his more than $870 million budget.

“All I’m saying is, he has to learn to live within his budget,” said Broward County Commissioner Steven Geller.

A major concern for city officials is how much was spent on the Research, Development and Training Center.

“You know, people say, ‘Oh, he’s engraved his name in the wood, which cannot be removed easily.’ You know, ‘He’s done all these things.’ I’d like to see it,” said Bogen.

On Friday, county leaders announced they’re directing the county’s auditor to investigate the sheriff’s spending.

Following news of the audit, the sheriff posted a video on social media late last week.

“I said this before, and I guess they’re not listening and learning. We keep every receipt,” he said in the video.

The sheriff’s posting continued throughout the weekend, as he called out the county commissioners.

“Public safety is not a joke,” he said in a video.

On Sunday, Tony even shared a video defending the use of the center with endorsements from celebrities and law enforcement.

And, while the sheriff did not come to the door, and the mayor was denied a visit to the center on Monday, shortly after Bogen left, the sheriff’s department called a news conference during which Tony revealed why he thinks Bogen and the commissioners have taken these steps.

“It has been nothing more than a disguise to distract from what is actually taking place: an unprecedented criminal investigation that expands beyond not one, two, three or four commissioners, but all nine. A criminal investigation that has included the county administrator, the deputy county administrator, attorneys,” said Tony. “We cannot allow this moment to turn into politics. I will not allow this organization to be bullied or intimidated.”

Bogen’s next move will be to hold an emergency county commission meeting on Tuesday morning to discuss where they go from here.

“Tomorrow, just so you know, at 9 a.m., we will be meeting in an emergency meeting — that has been noticed — to take legal action if he doesn’t let us in our own building,” said Bogen. “Maybe the next thing is to take this building away and assign him another.”

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