A stalemate between the Somerset County Sheriff’s Department and commissioners has law enforcement worried about what they will do, if they don’t have the resources needed to do their job.

Wednesday marks 4 weeks that the sheriff’s department says they’ve been waiting for an approval of a budget from the Somerset County Commissioners. The county's chief deputy sheriff, Dusty Weir, says they need new tires on 6 of their 9 vehicles.

“This is something that needs to be addressed now. Anything that’s gauged under five and under, which we have tires obviously that are two’s, three's, four's, and five’s are due to have a new set of tires on them. Especially with the weather coming up here for the winter. I’ve tried to use them as much as I can, for the taxpayers. But now it’s to the point that it’s long gone.” Weir says.

He says the department is also in need of taser cartridges. he says they do not have enough to do both training and carry them on the streets.

“We can do the training, but then we don't have the taser cartridges to reload our tasers, to carry them on the street.” says Weir.

“We do try to use the bare minimum of what we can, that is safe. And to keep everyone, you know, safe around the county and keep our deputies safe.” says Somerset County Sheriff's office Sergeant, Nicholas McKenzie.

I asked the Somerset County Commissioners what they think about this, and why they haven’t approved the budget yet. They gave me the statement below:.

“In mid-August, Mr. Weir requisitioned brand new tires for 75% of his vehicle fleet, never indicating a dire need until our public meeting Tuesday. Because a total of 24 tires were requested at one time, we are now concerned routine maintenance on these vehicles has been neglected. In the interest of our deputies’ safety, and our responsibility to our taxpayers to ensure that purchases are made as needed, we asked Mr. Weir to meet personally to discuss these issues and he refused. We will sign the requisition if Mr. Weir can answer these important questions on behalf of our employees and taxpayers, and the Commissioners are assured that a regular schedule of maintenance is being conducted on our county vehicles.”

Sheriff Weir says the department will have to store away their tasers, if they cannot get new cartridges by October.

ncG1vNJzZmivmpawtcKNnKamZ56axLR7y6iamqRfl8Kls8StZKyskaGyrq3TnmSlnZGrsrR50qiknqqjmsFur86upa2xXai1pr7In52sZZSavaK%2B06acp6xdlsFuu8Odqmavmam1bq%2FOpqSiq6OevK%2Bx0axksKeip7amsIyamaitpGLAorLErbA%3D