Broward County commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday, Oct. 13, to authorize the county attorney to pursue legal action against Sheriff Gregory Tony if negotiations fail to secure access to the Broward Sheriff’s Office budget records and headquarters. The county wants to examine how BSO is spending its roughly $870 million budget, Mayor Mark Bogen said during an emergency meeting in Fort Lauderdale. He argued that taxpayers and county officials should be able to see how public money is being used. “Everything stops if they just open their books and say, ‘Here’s what we’re spending our money on,’” Bogen said. The vote does not itself file a lawsuit. It gives the county attorney authority to take legal steps if discussions with the sheriff’s office do not resolve the dispute. The conflict also concerns BSO’s training facility. On Monday, Bogen and commissioners were denied entry when they sought to inspect it. The county auditor has said the facility cost more than twice what had been expected, according to officials at the meeting. Bogen said the county had repeatedly asked BSO command staff to arrange a visit but received no response. Tony called the county’s actions a distraction. He pointed to subpoenas issued to all commissioners last month by statewide prosecutors investigating a county study of whether BSO should continue providing law enforcement at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and Port Everglades. Bogen said he was unaware of a criminal investigation involving commissioners or county staff. The county attorney said she was not aware of one, either. The state investigators’ office had been contacted for comment, according to the information provided at the meeting. The budget dispute comes as Commissioner Lamar Fisher is seeking to remove the county’s 911 system from the sheriff’s control. That proposal is scheduled for discussion at a meeting next Tuesday. Fisher said that, if approved, the transition would happen immediately. The dispute puts county oversight of a major public-safety budget—and control of emergency communications—at the center of a widening political clash between county leaders and the sheriff.