Parker administration officials declined to confirm that detail.

When questioned about these funds at Wednesday's budget hearing, Bilal's undersheriff, Tariq El-Shabazz, told City Council that the "state has authorized" the sheriff to use the fees to supplement its operations, such as purchasing bulletproof vests, due to underfunding.

City Controller Christy Brady says the characterization was not correct.

"The charter requires that spending by all city offices and departments, including the Sheriff's Office, be specifically authorized by appropriations in the city's annual operating budget ordinance," Brady said in a statement to The Inquirer.

A spokesperson for Gov. Josh Shapiro's administration said it was unaware of any special authorization granted to the sheriff for these funds.

'This can't be real'

Sheriffs across Pennsylvania charge fees for property auctions or court services, then typically transfer the revenue to their county's general fund, minus small mandatory payments to a state fund for deputy training and education.

Representatives for the sheriffs in Delaware, Montgomery, Bucks, and Chester Counties confirmed that is how they operate.

Experts in local finance say the Philadelphia Sheriff's Office's practice of circumventing the city budget process raises concerns.

"Generally, the body that spends the money should not be the body that's collecting the money," said Jayce Farmer, an assistant professor in the School of Public Policy and Leadership at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas. "You want checks and balances to make sure the moneys go to where they need to go."

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