If Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony wants the state to force county government to provide more funding for law enforcement, he should subject his agency to the same spending scrutiny the county has been undergoing since the summer, Mayor Beam Furr said Friday.<\/p>\n
Responding to an op-ed written by Tony this week and published in the Sun Sentinel<\/a>, Furr said the county budget passed last month devoted more than 50% of its resources to law enforcement, hardly a sign that the agency was being ignored or shortchanged.<\/p>\n During the negotiation process this year, Tony asked the county for a funding increase of $79 million, or 11%. The County Commission came through with $24 million, or 3%, Furr said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe had asked every department in the county to have a 5% cut,\u201d Furr said. \u201cHe knew that and he still came in high.\u201d<\/p>\n This year, for the first time, the county was asked to fund the newly created Broward County Tax Collector\u2019s Office, introducing an annual expense of about $80 million. Agencies were asked to either cut back or scale back their budget requests to make up for it.<\/p>\n Tony said in his op-ed that he was being transparent in seeking additional funds for raises and expenses.<\/p>\n \u201cFor seven consecutive years, as sheriff, I have submitted responsible and transparent budgets that reflected the real costs of keeping this county safe,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd for seven straight years, the Broward Sheriff\u2019s Office (BSO) has been denied full funding by the Broward County Commission.\u201d<\/p>\n At the end of his op-ed, Tony said he would ask the state\u2019s Administration Commission to review the budget allocation to force the county\u2019s hand.<\/p>\n Bring it on, Furr said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe can\u2019t review his budget. We can\u2019t audit his budget,\u201d the mayor said.<\/p>\n