The Erie County Sheriff's department's 31-foot rescue boat is shown in this photo while tied up at Wolverine Marina in Erie, 6:18 p.m. 3 October 2005.

The vessel was recently purchased with a $200,000 USD grant from the Department of Homeland Security; however, as Erie County faces a budget deficit and there is no money for operating costs in the Sheriff's Department budget, Erie County Sheriff Bob Merski will have to find other agencies willing to split operating costs with the Sheriff's Department before the boat can be fully utilized. The boat has left the Sheriff's Department and County Council at odds over how to fund its operation, and whether or not the boat is even necessary.