BROWARD COUNTY, Fla. — Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony tossed his latest bomb in writing — an op-ed in the Sun Sentinel suggesting the county commission is shortchanging public safety.

Broward County Mayor Beam Furr says that’s simply not the case.

“It is our highest priority,” Furr said.

According to Furr, public safety takes up more than half of the county’s entire budget — and he said the sheriff has received major support in recent years.

“We’ve bought helicopters, we made huge increases on dispatch — a lot of things to make sure that he could work out,” Furr said. “He said essentially he thought this year it was his turn to kind of give.”

The sheriff initially requested about 50% more funding — a proposal the commission didn’t even consider. What was approved instead amounted to a cost-of-living increase during a difficult budget year, when every county department was asked to make cuts.

Furr also noted that state auditors who reviewed Broward’s finances did not even look at the sheriff’s budget.

“And we’re not allowed to look at his budget — have an audit,” he said.

Tony has faced questions over his own spending, including an over-budget high-tech training center that included roughly half a million dollars for marketing, a full wall mural of himself, shower curtains with his name, and luxury fixtures like a soaking tub and custom flooring.

Furr said Tony communicates mostly through social media, speeches and op-eds — but not through direct dialogue with the commission.

“We had invited the sheriff to our meetings,” Furr said. “We didn’t get much discussion going.”

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